Ralph H. Kohlmann | |
|---|---|
| Born | Paterson, New Jersey [1] |
| Service/ | United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1980–2009 |
| Rank | Colonel |
Ralph Harold Kohlmann [2] is an American lawyer and retired United States Marine Corps officer. [3] [1]
Raised in Wyckoff, New Jersey, Kohlmann is a 1976 graduate of Ramapo High School. [4]
| date | institution |
|---|---|
| 1980 | Bachelor of Science, United States Naval Academy |
| 1987 | Juris Doctor, The Delaware Law School, Widener University |
| 1994 | Master of Law (Military Law), The Judge Advocate General's School, U.S. Army |
| 2002 | Master of Arts (National Security and Strategic Studies), United States Naval War College |
For his first seven years as an officer, Kohlmann served as a combat engineer. [1] He switched to the Judge Advocate General Corps in 1987.
On December 18, 2005, Kohlmann was announced as a Presiding Officer for the Guantanamo Military Commissions. [5]
On Friday January 6, 2006 the Department of Defense officially appointed Kohlmann to preside over Binyam Mohammed's military commission. [6] In its ruling in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld the United States Supreme Court ruled that President George W. Bush lacked the constitutional authority to create military commissions.
The Supreme Court had ruled that the United States Congress did have the constitutional authority to create military commissions, and Congress subsequently passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 a few months later, re-instituting military commissions very similar to the earlier presidentially authorized commissions.
On December 13, 2007, the New York Times reported that Kohlmann was appointed to serve as a Chief judge by the Office of Military Commissions. [3]
On May 29, 2008, an e-mail from Kohlmann announced that a new officer was appointed to replace Peter Brownback. [7] [8] The initial lack of explanation triggered commentators to question Brownback's firing. [9] [10] [11] [12] Captain Andre Kok, a spokesperson for the Office of Military Commissions, claimed there had been "a mutual decision between Col. Brownback and the Army that he revert to his retired status when his current active-duty orders expire in June." [13]
Commenting on this issue, the American Civil Liberties Union pointed to Brownback's decision to wait until the Prosecution complied with his order to make public Khadr's detention records—which may have substantiated his claims his incriminating statements were the product of abuse. They wrote the Pentagon "is unwilling to let judges exercise independence if it means a ruling against the government."
In writing about Kohlmann's reassignment of the Khadr case, the Washington Post asked readers to: [14]
Imagine if, during the O.J. Simpson murder trial, Judge Lance Ito ordered the district attorney's office to hand over DNA samples and logs of O.J.'s stay in county jail after his arrest. Then imagine that the prosecutors refused to do so. And that, instead of being fined for contempt of court (or thrown in jail themselves), these same prosecutors somehow got their boss to get Ito tossed off the bench. And then the D.A.'s office worked behind the scenes to replace Ito with a more, shall we say, compliant judge. [14]
Subsequently, The Pentagon claimed that the decision that Brownback would resign was mutual. [9] But Kohlmann issued a statement on June 2, 2008, that Brownback had been willing to continue to serve as a military judge. Brownback was a retired officer who had been recalled to active duty in 2004 to serve as the first judge on the first Military Commissions. Kohlmann said "My detailing of another judge was completely unrelated to any actions that Col. Brownback has taken in this or any other case. Any suggestion that Col. Brownback asked to return to retired status before the case of US v. Khadr was completed is also incorrect."
Lieutenant Commander William Kuebler, Omar Khadr's assigned military lawyer, noted that authorities had been advertising for new officers to volunteer to serve on the Military Commissions, and called the decision "odd to say the least". [9] According to Carol J. Williams, writing in the Los Angeles Times Kuebler said: [13]
We need to investigate the matter further. Whatever the case, this seriously undermines whatever integrity these proceedings possessed before. [13]
In September 2008, he presided as the judge at the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. [15]
In November 2008, Department of Defence officials announced that Kohlmann was relinquishing his duties as the Military Judge in the military commissions of the 9-11 hijackers. [16] [17] Due to his impending retirement, Kohlmann detailed Colonel Stephen Henley, U.S. Army, to replace him as the Military Judge in the 9-11 cases. Kohlmann continued to serve as the Chief Judge of the Military Commissions until December 2008. He was succeeded in that position by Colonel James Pohl, U.S. Army. Kohlmann accepted a position as a civilian attorney in the Department of the Navy Office of General Counsel in January 2009.
At it 2012 annual meeting the American Bar Association hosted a presentation entitled "The Renewed Trials by Military Commission Under the Obama Administration: An Historical Perspective". [18] Kohlmann and several other current and former key figures in the military commission system participated in the presentation. [19]
Layne Morris is a retired American special forces operative. On July 27, 2002, he was wounded and blinded in one eye during a gunfight in Afghanistan that left American combat medic Christopher J. Speer dead, allegedly at the hands of the Canadian accused terrorist Omar Khadr.
"A piece of the hand grenade shrapnel cut the optic nerve, so I'm blind in one eye."
Omar Ahmed Said Khadr is a Canadian who, at the age of 15, was detained by the United States at Guantanamo Bay for ten years, during which he pleaded guilty to the murder of U.S. Army Sergeant 1st Class Christopher Speer and other charges. He later appealed his conviction, claiming that he falsely pleaded guilty so that he could return to Canada where he remained in custody for three additional years. Khadr sued the Canadian government for infringing his rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms; this lawsuit was settled in 2017 with a CA$10.5 million payment and an apology by the federal government.
Salim Ahmed Salim Hamdan is a Yemeni man, captured during the invasion of Afghanistan, declared by the United States government to be an illegal enemy combatant and held as a detainee at Guantanamo Bay from 2002 to November 2008. He admits to being Osama bin Laden's personal driver and said he needed the money.
Peter E. Brownback III is a retired military officer and lawyer. He was appointed in 2004 by general John D. Altenburg as a Presiding Officer on the Guantanamo military commissions. The Washington Post reported: "...that Brownback and Altenburg have known each other since 1977, that Brownback's wife worked for Altenburg, and that Altenburg hosted Brownback's retirement party in 1999."
Morris Durham "Moe" Davis is an American retired U.S. Air Force colonel, attorney, educator, politician, and former administrative law judge.
Abdul Zahir is a citizen of Afghanistan, who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States' Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. He was the tenth captive, and the first Afghan, to face charges before the first Presidentially authorized Guantanamo military commissions. After the US Supreme Court ruled that the President lacked the constitutional authority to set up military commissions, the United States Congress passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006. He was not charged under that system.
William "Bill" C. Kuebler was an American lawyer and a Commander in the United States Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps, assigned to the U.S. Navy Office of the Judge Advocate General, International and Operational Law Division. Kuebler was previously assigned to the Office of Military Commissions. Prior to the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, to overturn the then current version of the Guantanamo military commissions on constitutional grounds, Kuebler was detailed to defend Ghassan Abdullah al Sharbi. Al Sharbi had insisted on representing himself and Kuebler refused superior orders to act as his lawyer.
Keith Johns Allred was an American Naval officer and Naval trial lawyer, beginning his career with the US Seventh Fleet aboard several Naval destroyers, from 1979 to 1982. From 1985, until his retirement in 2009, he oversaw the Western Pacific Judicial Circuit as a Circuit Trial Judge. He was also the presiding judge at the Guantanamo military commission where he notably oversaw the trial of Salim Hamdan.
Stephen Abraham is an American lawyer and officer in the United States Army Reserve. In June 2007, he became the first officer who had served on a Combatant Status Review Tribunal to publicly criticize its operations. He said the evidence provided did not meet legal standard, and the members of the panels were strongly pressured by superiors to find that detainees should be classified as enemy combatants. Abraham served in the Office for the Administrative Review of the Detention of Enemy Combatants.
Al Odah v. United States is a court case filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights and co-counsels challenging the legality of the continued detention as enemy combatants of Guantanamo detainees. It was consolidated with Boumediene v. Bush (2008), which is the lead name of the decision.
The Military Commissions Act of 2006 mandated that rulings from the Guantanamo military commissions could be appealed to a Court of Military Commission Review, which would sit in Washington, D.C.
Thomas W. Hartmann is an American lawyer and officer in the United States Air Force Reserve. He has 32 years of criminal, commercial and civil litigation experience. Between 1983 and 1991 he was a prosecutor and defense counsel in the Air Force, including duties as Chief Air Force Prosecutor in Asia-Pacific Region. From 1991 to 1996 he was an associate at Bryan Cave LLP and at SBC Communications. In 1996 he became senior counsel for mergers & acquisitions for SBC Communications closing multiple deals worth several billion dollars in U.S., Europe, and South America as well as negotiating a strategic partnering agreement with a global internet service provider. From 1998 onwards he was general counsel for SBC Communications (1999–2001), Orius Corp. (2001–2004) and MxEnergy Inc. (2005–2007) in domestic and international settings. In July 2007 Brigadier General Hartmann was appointed the legal adviser to the convening authority in the Department of Defense Office of Military Commissions. In September 2008, as a result of the expansion of the commission efforts that Hartmann had led, Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England elevated Hartmann to become the director of operations, planning, and development for the commissions. Hartmann reported to Susan J. Crawford, a retired judge, who was the convening authority until March 2010.
Colby Vokey is an American lawyer and former officer in the United States Marine Corps. He currently practices criminal defense law in his own private practice. He represents clients in all types of criminal matters, with particular emphasis on cases involving military law. Vokey earned the rank of lieutenant colonel and served as a judge advocate in the United States Marine Corps during 21 years of service to his country. His retirement from the Marine Corps became effective November 1, 2008. During his military career, Vokey earned worldwide praise for his work ethic and integrity, based in part on his work for defendants detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who faced charges stemming from the war in Iraq.
Attorney Lawrence J. Morris is the chief of staff and counselor to the president at The Catholic University of America and a retired United States Army colonel.
Patrick Parrish is an officer in the United States Army.
Colonel James L. Pohl is an American lawyer and officer in the United States Army.
The United States of America has charged Guantanamo captives before "military commissions", each presided over by a presiding officer.
Brian L. Mizer is a United States Navy JAG officer. He is from the State of Nebraska. He attended Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, for his undergraduate degree and Case Western Reserve University for his Juris Doctor.
Colonel Peter Masciola served as the Chief Defense Counsel for the Office of Military Commissions in 2008 and 2009. He was appointed in the fall of 2008. Masciola was President of the Judge Advocate Association in 2001–2002.
Jeffrey Colwell is an American lawyer, and retired colonel in the United States Marine Corps. Colwell served in the Marine Corps from his graduation from the United States Naval Academy in 1987 until his retirement in 2012. The Marine Corps sponsored Colwell to earn a J.D. degree at Suffolk University. After his retirement, he moved with his wife and two children to Denver, Colorado to become a court clerk.
Back in 2002, a master's degree candidate at the Naval War College wrote a paper on the Bush administration's plan to use military commissions to try Guantánamo suspects, concluding that "even a good military tribunal is a bad idea."
It drew little notice at the time, but the paper has gained a second life because of its author's big promotion: Col. Ralph H. Kohlmann of the Marines is now the chief judge of the military commissions at the naval base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Kohlmann notified lawyers last week that a new judge had been assigned to the case but did not give a reason, prompting criticism in the United States and Canada.
Col. Ralph Kohlmann took the unusual step of issuing a statement about the dismissal of Col. Peter Brownback, saying it was "unrelated" to any of his cases.
Chief judge Marine Col. Ralph Kohlmann said he was making the rare public statement because last week's dismissal of Col. Peter Brownback raised questions about the independence of military officers presiding over tribunals at the Guantanamo Bay Navy base in Cuba.
The U.S. military judge who has been presiding over Omar Khadr's terror case was dumped Thursday, three weeks after he threatened to halt proceedings if the prosecution failed to release the Canadian's detention records.
Asked about Brownback's removal, Air Force Capt. Andre Kok, a tribunal spokesman, said it was "a mutual decision between Col. Brownback and the Army that he revert to his retired status when his current active-duty orders expire in June."
According to this report from Carol Williams in the Los Angeles Times, this bizarre story is precisely what happened over the weekend in the case of Omar Khadr, a Canadian charged with murder, conspiracy and supporting terrorism.