Kunstler Accepts Case of Returning Defector

FT. DIX, N.J. — Noted defense lawyer William M. Kunstler has agreed to represent an Army private who returned to the West eight months after defecting to the Soviet Union, a Kunstler associate said Tuesday.

Kunstler, who recently represented Marine sergeant and former Moscow embassy guard Clayton J. Lonetree in his court-martial on espionage charges, accepted the case of Pvt. Wade Roberts to “make sure he is treated fairly,” law partner Ronald Kuby said. The Army has not yet decided whether to discharge Roberts or press charges against him.