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A Tale of Two Detainees: Defending the Accused and the U.S. Constitution in the Military Commissions of Guantanamo

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Monday, March 30, 2015
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm

Renowned advocate and scholar Lt Col David Frakt, an Air Force JAG officer and highly regarded expert on military commissions, will speak about his representation of detainees Mohammed Jawad and Ali Hamza al Bahlul. In 2009 in the Jawad case, Frakt became the only person to win the pretrial dismissal of military commission charges and win the release of a military commission defendant through habeas corpus, while bringing international attention to the abuse of a juvenile detainee. In 2008, Mr. al Bahlul famously boycotted his trial and is the sole prisoner at Guantanamo serving a sentence from a military commission during the Bush presidency. Together these cases provide a fascinating look inside the military commissions and the unique attorney-client relationships between American military officers and accused enemy combatants. Sponsored by National Security Law Society. For more information, please contact Danny Beaulieu at DPB14@duke.edu.