Client Experience

What Guantanamo defense lawyers have to say about the Guantanamo Defense Clinic

According to Lt. Col. David Frakt, lead military defense attorney for detainee Mohamed Jawad, having the benefit of the clinic's expertise has been "extraordinary."

"Professor Morris and Allison Hester-Haddad ['08, who directed the clinic in the fall 2008 semester] have encyclopedic knowledge of virtually every issue related to the commissions," says Frakt, a JAG Corps reservist. "On several occasions, I have asked for the clinic to do some quick research on an issue, only to find that they already had a detailed research memorandum on the topic, such as on aspects of the legislative history of the Military Commissions Act.

"I have incorporated significant portions of Guantanamo Defense Clinic products into suppression motions, motions on personal and subject matter jurisdiction, and motions relating to the law of war, detainee abuse, and child soldiers," he adds. "Professor Morris testified as an expert on three separate jurisdictional motions in the Jawad case and was recognized as a 'distinguished legal scholar' in the commissions' rulings. An article on personal jurisdiction she co-wrote with several clinic students was submitted to the commission as persuasive authority."

Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld served as lead prosecutor in the military commission prosecution of Mohammed Jawad. He cross-examined Professor Madeline Morris when she testified as an expert witness on jurisdictional issues in Jawad's defense. Vandevelt subsequently resigned as prosecutor and submitted a declaration and testified on Jawad's behalf in federal court habeas corpus proceedings. He made the following comments in an interview that appeared on the website "The Moderate Voice" on Feb. 21, 2009.

"My declaration ... describes the seminal and compelling work of Professor Madeline Morris of the Duke University Law School, whose comprehensive knowledge of the history, evolution, and application of the law of war is the most cogent I've seen expressed by anyone to date. Professor Morris submitted to the Commissions a summary analysis of the charges against Jawad, and later testified as a defense expert witness on the subject. Professor Morris's explication -- again, as clear and cogent of any I have seen -- would convince any objective observer that Jawad's conduct, even if true and provable, did not amount to a violation of the law of war."