The ISBA Board of Governors has voted to support an American Bar Association resolution that calls on government officials to support pro bono representation of “disfavored individuals and groups,” even if it seems contrary to U.S. interests or popular opinion.

The resolution from the ABA Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service followed a recent attack against lawyers who volunteered to provide legal services to detainees at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

In his statement on Jan. 11, Charles Stimson, deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, also called for an economic boycott of lawyers and law firms that participate.

After expressions of outrage from the legal community and news media, Stimson resigned Feb. 2 because the backlash hampered his ability to function effectively, a Pentagon official said.

ABA President Karen Mathis had responded on Jan. 17 that “The real issue in this debate is not whether lawyers should represent accused terrorists, or whether other clients should shun them … (but) whether our nation is committed to justice.”

She added that “The lawyers representing Guantanamo's detainees are attempting to assure justice, despite extremely challenging circumstances, and they have done so as volunteers in the finest tradition of this country's legal profession.”

The ABA resolution was scheduled for deliberation during the midyear meeting this month in Miami.

It calls on the government to remedy acts of intimidation that could thwart provision of pro bono assistance by threatening financial repercussions and fanning public disapproval against volunteer efforts.

It also urges bar associations to strengthen public education attempts to explain why legal defense of disfavored individuals and groups performs a vital role in the system of justice.

“If legal assistance is withheld from anyone because of the nature of the accusations made against them, or the unpopularity of their beliefs… all of us are thereby at greater risk,” the resolution concludes.