Like A Ton of Bricks

Lynne Stewart's conviction for terrorism related charges hit her like a ton of bricks. She's now got to prepare her appeals, which even she admits are a long shot, and hope for the mercy of the court.

Oh, and she's got to send her current clients elsewhere as she's going to be disbarred by the State of New York. The Appellate Division will see to that - as New York law requires any lawyer convicted of a felony to be disbarred although there is an appeals process for that as well.

After a Supreme Court decision on sentencing last month, Judge Koeltl will have new flexibility to decide Ms. Stewart's sentence. Ms. Stewart said the loss of her law practice was more painful than the prospect of life behind bars.

"I spend a lot of time in jails," she said, "and I'm not afraid of jail as such. I know that jail is mostly unpleasant, uncomfortable, you're at the command of persons who don't have your best interests at heart, you can't make a decision for yourself."

But she worried that she might be singled out for special isolation or harsh treatment by prison authorities as a terrorism convict.

Ms. Stewart's co-defendants, Ahmed Abdel Sattar and Mohamed Yousry, will also appeal their convictions, their lawyers said. Mr. Sattar, a Staten Island postal worker who worked as a paralegal aide with Ms. Stewart, was convicted of terror charges that carry a maximum life sentence. Mr. Yousry, an Arabic-language interpreter, was convicted of providing material support to terrorism.

A lawyer for Mr. Yousry, David Ruhnke, said he was "shocked and bitterly disappointed" by the verdict.

Stewart and her cohorts are worried that they were singled out for harsh treatment? Silly rabbits, they were singled out because they were singularly stupid enough to break the law, get caught breaking the law on videotape, and brag about breaking the law and agreements with federal prosecutors on tape. If Stewart is singled out in prison, it will be to protect her life from those who might not take kindly to seeing someone who represents terrorists in their midst - and to keep Stewart from dispensing her legal wisdom to other inmates.