Is John Yoo subject to any criminal prosecution for his legal opinions?

[rurallib]

I am really curious. A guest on DN! this morning said that there was little precedent for such charges. One Nazi lawyer was tried and convicted at Nueremberg and sentenced to 3 years.

[AnneD]

1. If he's not now....

he should be. Nothing would thrill me more than for him to get a dose of his medicine.

[rurallib]

2. Doesn't seem right that he should provide the legal excuses

for the criminal behavior that has caused so much suffering and he gets away scott free.

[BlooInBloo]

3. Malpractice maybe.

[depakid]

4. He could certainly have been disciplined by the state Bar

and should have been, as he's a disgrace to all California attorneys.

[rurallib]

6. He should spend some time in the slammer

at a minimum I would think. I really would like to see him have to endure what he championed.
If he loses his license he would be taken care of by the repugs just like Scooter.

[Bonhomme Richard]

5. Maybe at the Hague as the.................

Architect of War Crimes.

[ProgressiveFool]

7. Read the Vanity Fair article, there's some in there about that

The German Nazi lawyer who was tried for war crimes was named Altstotter (I think). Yoo, Feith, Addington and the others in the Torture Team had better watch their steps if they leave the country, because at some point in the future they might get the "tap on the shoulder" and be brought up on war crimes before an international court. One interesting point is that the passage in this country of legislation like the Military Commisions Act, which immunized people higher up the food chain from being held accountable for their war crimes, is seen as a trigger for another country to press war crimes charges, since that legislation makes it plain that this country has no intention of ever seeking justice.

[walldude]

8. No. Why should he be any different...

None of them are, and probably won't be.

[Supersedeas]

9. lawyers who wrote legal opinions in defense of Nazi tactics were charged with War Crimes

for writing their legal opinions

[Gothmog]

10. He is under DOJ investigation and is being sued

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/04/02/DI2008040201546.html
Dan Eggen: There's no indication of any criminal investigation, proceedings, etc., against John Yoo, though I know it is a popular sentiment in the blogosphere.
However, Yoo does appear to face potential legal jeopardy in two areas:
1) Lawyers for former enemy combatant Jose Padilla have filed a civil lawsuit against Yoo, arguing that his legal advice led to abuse of their clieint.
2) The Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility, which is an internal watchdog of sorts that polices attorney conduct, is conducting an investigation of the role that Justice Department attorneys played in authorizing the use of waterboarding by the CIA. It's unclear how directly Yoo's role as a top Justice lawyer might fit into that probe however.

[spanone]

11. what? someone in the bu$h* administration held accountable? scooters a free man

[ThomWV]

12. No

He was a Government employee doing what was appropriate for his job. It is not illegal to have a misguided, unpopular, or stupid opinion, or even to write one down. It was his job to give his opinion, which he did. Now, if someone other than the Government paid him or offered him a job, or a ride on an airplane, or a stay at a resort, or anything else to sway his opinion, then that would be a different matter. As far as I know this was not the case with Mr. Yoo.