This Generation’s Thurgood Marshall?

There was a glowing profile of Neal Katyal today on NPR. Katyal was the lead counsel in the recently concluded landmark case Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, in which the Supreme Court ruled that the system set up by the Bush administration to try accused war criminals at Guantanamo Bay was invalid. You can read about the case here and here. An example of Katyal’s lucid writing style can be found here.

I find the outcome of the case, as well as the Katyal story, inspiring. The case exemplifies the American justice system at work. Conscientious lawyers, through their strong belief in the rule of law, invest substantial time, talent, and energy into the legal process to fight a long, and ultimately winning, battle against huge odds to uphold what all should hold dear—respect for the constitution and international law. The Katyal profile—a bright, young offspring of Indian immigrants rising to the top of American legal echelon—is the classic American success story. With so much bad news dominating the airwaves these days, it is comforting to see that things do work out time to time.