R.I. judge named to review detainee cases

The appointment of Williams, 63, who has pledged to make justice more accessible to average citizens at Rhode Island's top court, is one of several Pentagon moves in recent weeks that seem aimed at countering criticism of the detentions at Guantanamo Bay before the US Supreme Court rules on their legality. About 660 detainees are being held without charges or access to lawyers, some for as long as two years, with almost no information about them being released to the public.

Yesterday, senior Defense Department officials said that they hoped the announcement of experienced civilians to serve as members of the review panel would help allay criticism of the planned military tribunals, which lack many of the protections of a civilian trial. "They were looking for people who could review it who had distinguished legal careers," one official said. "They were looking for a manifestation of independence."

In a telephone interview after the announcement, Williams said: "This to me is like another mission that I am proud and honored to do."

"I'm certainly not going to change my theme or my thrust of letting the public, the people we serve, know what it is we are doing and why we are doing it," he said.

The detentions have been criticized for their secrecy, as the military has not even released the names of the vast majority of those being held.

Williams, a Vietnam veteran and nationally renowned scholar on Abraham Lincoln, was appointed to the appellate body of the military tribunal alongside Griffin B. Bell, former US attorney general under President Jimmy Carter; Edward G. Biester, a judge, former Pennsylvania attorney general, and former US House member; and William T. Coleman Jr., former transportation secretary under President Gerald Ford. The Defense Department also said the tribunals would be overseen by John D. Altenburg Jr., a retired major general.

The two-year term on the panel will be performed in Williams's spare time and will not require him to step down as chief justice. The appointment also brings together the eclectic threads of his career -- from military service to a longstanding fascination with Lincoln to a desire to make justice understandable to ordinary people.

As a judge, Williams allowed journalists extraordinary access to his court during a high-profile rape trial, and helped institute a program that brings judges into the classroom to teach children.

"I'm doing that, in part, because of cynicism by many people against our institutions and the lack of teaching of civics and social studies in our high schools," he said, adding that scandals in Rhode Island have eroded public confidence. "All of that is to bring the people in the loop. This court isn't for me, or other judges. It's for the citizens."

But even Williams is mindful of the new level of secrecy demanded by the appointment.

"I am not supposed to comment on process," he said, of the military tribunal rules. "Certainly, it's a different system. It's a military protocol, versus a civil protocol."

Born in Cranston, R.I., Williams studied history at Boston University and joined the Army, rising to the rank of captain. A decorated Vietnam veteran, he is still so fond of the military that his computer elicits a cavalry bugle call every time he gets an e-mail. In July 2002, he visited Guantanamo Bay with several other Rhode Island officials to greet Rhode Island reservists stationed at the base. It was there that he offered his services to the military in their efforts to set up a tribunal to try the detainees. Farah Stockman can be reached at fstockman@globe.com.