Categories
Join Us At:
|
Resigned Gitmo Prosecutor: Commission System is "Slipshod"You'll recall that last week, Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld resigned from his position as lead prosecutor in U.S. v. Jawad, the case against Guantanamo detainee Mohammed Jawad. Jawad was a teenager when he was captured; he's charged (PDF) with attempted murder and attempt to cause serious bodily injury. On Tuesday, ProPublica's Eric Umansky got his hands on a copy of Vandeveld's declaration (PDF). Vandeveld writes: My ethical qualms about continuing to serve as a prosecutor relate primarily to the procedures for affording defense counsel discovery. I am highly concerned, to the point that I believe I can no longer serve as a prosecutor at the Commissions, about the slipshod, uncertain "procedure" for affording defense counsel discovery. One would have thought that after six years since the Commissions had their fitful start, that a functioning law office would have been set up and procedures and policies not only put into effect, but refined.Indeed. Umansky noted yesterday that Vandeveld is the sixth government prosecutor to resign his post. For more details on how Vandeveld's resignation played out, and the concerns he raised, check out Hina Shamsi's account of the Jawad hearings at Guantanamo last week, including Vandeveld's testimony about his resignation.
|
|
|
© ACLU, 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor New York, NY 10004 |
One important law in that regard is the prohibition on politically partisan activity. Given our nonprofit status, we may not endorse or oppose candidates for elective office. That means we cannot host comments on our site that show a preference for one candidate or party. Although we in no way wish to discourage you from that activity elsewhere, we ask that you not engage in that activity on our website (or include links to other websites that do so). Additionally, given that we are subject to very specific rules concerning the collection of personally identifying information through our website (names, email addresses, home address, financial information, etc.), we ask that you not use the comments portion of this blog to solicit this information from users of our website. We also ask that you not use the comments portion for advertising or requests for legal assistance, and do not add to your comment links to other websites, as we cannot be responsible for the content on other websites.
We are not able to respond to unsolicited inquiries, complaints or requests for assistance sent to this blog. Please direct your complaint or request for assistance to the ACLU affiliate in your state. Requests for legal assistance left in the blog comments will not receive a response or be published.
Finally, the ACLU cannot guarantee the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information in the comment section and expressly disclaims any liability for any information in this section.