You have a right to an attorney--kind of

The Justice Department backed off a plan to limit prisoner visits with their attorneys to three visits. According to the AP, "Administration attorneys told a U.S. appeals court the Defense Department, which runs the prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, determined the proposed three-visit limit is "no longer warranted," based on "a current evaluation of resources and needs."

There have been no restrictions on the number of visits by attorneys with their clients at Guantanamo but last month Justice Department lawyers proposed limiting attorneys with existing clients at Guantanamo to just three visits.

Justice Department lawyers said in a six-page court filing that the Defense Department still believes the other proposed restrictions are "warranted and appropriate."

One proposal would allow lawyer-client mail to be read by government officials who are not involved in the case.

Another proposed restriction would limit defense lawyers' access to classified information that was part of the tribunal record. They would get access only if the U.S. government determined they had a "need to know."

The appeals court is considering the procedures to govern the cases brought by the prisoners in light of an anti-terrorism law that President George W. Bush pushed through Congress last year.

That law took away the right of the prisoners to challenge their detention before U.S. district court judges in Washington, resulting in the dismissal of pending cases and a more limited review by the appeals court.