John Yoo, author of some of the Bush administration’s war-on-terror memos, has hired Washington, D.C., lawyer Miguel Estrada to appeal a ruling that allowed an allegedly mistreated detainee’s suit against Yoo.

In a court filing last week (.pdf) notifying Northern District of California Judge Jeffrey White of the appeal, Justice Department lawyers who have represented Yoo thus far announced they were stepping aside, and that Yoo would hire private counsel.