concept that there’s one way to achieve justice. When you start looking at another system’s justice process, it forces you to consider your own and better understand it. “What you see when you look at the Iraqi system is that their constitution is substantially newer than the criminal procedure code from the 1970s,” continued MacDonnell. “Iraqis have a great deal of affection for their civil and criminal codes, which have remained relatively unchanged compared to the turnovers in their constitution. That’s an adjustment for those of us who have been raised in a common law system. We’re accustomed to our Constitution being the core document that rarely, rarely changes.” The students are working with the Rusafa Defense Clinic and the 30 Iraqi defense attorneys there who represent Iraqi criminal defendants. “We’re providing support by researching and writing legal memorandums in areas they’ve asked us to look at, such as coerced statements and speedy trials,” said MacDonnell. The practicum is also working with the State Department’s Rule of Law Session at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq on a project related to the Military Jurisdiction Act and providing a comprehensive guide to its application. MacDonnell and his students are pleased to be helping in the day-in, day-out criminal jurisdiction. “We hope to see that justice is being done and make sure there is appropriate and adequate representation,” he said.
Equal Protection Under the Law
Capt. Prescott Prince ’83
Prescott Prince ’83 doesn’t mince words about one of the biggest capital punishment cases this century. The Richmond, Va., criminal defense attorney and Naval Reservist, who was called to duty in 2007 and served as part of a team monitoring detainee operations in Iraq, has been assigned to defend Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. In December, Mohammed pled guilty to the terror charges. “I don’t think it’s possible for Mohammed to get a fair trial
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under the military commissions,” said Prince, calling it a flawed system that abandons constitutional principles for the sake of convenience. “If this guy is as bad as they say he is, then they ought to be able to convict him the right way.” Mohammed has admitted to planning every aspect of the Sept. 11 attacks, but his confession may be tainted by the CIA’s admission that it subjected him to so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques,” including simulated drowning, known as water boarding, and widely viewed as violating the Geneva Convention’s ban on torture. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Prince said, “I have no idea whether he did even half of those things he is accused of doing. But if he did commit those offenses, there are still issues of whether this court has jurisdiction, whether he is an enemy combatant who should be tried in a tribunal of this nature. “Every deputy sheriff from Skunk Holler knows that if you rough somebody up before they give a statement, you can’t take that information to trial,” he added. Faced with what is clearly the biggest case of his life, Prince is calm and confident. A 20-year career defending alleged robbers, rapists and murderers has prepared him for representing one of the most notorious men alive. Prince found his niche in criminal law during his second year. With a B.A. from Davidson College and an M.S. in clinical psychology from Radford University, he pondered a career in legal academia, but changed his mind when he took a trial advocacy class. “I just fell in love with courtroom law during that course and knew that’s what I wanted to do,” he said. He later interviewed with the Navy Judge Advocate General’s office and after graduation accepted a four-year active duty commission, specializing in criminal defense. After leaving the service, Prince established a private practice in Richmond focused on criminal defense and family law. As a rule of law officer in Iraq, Prince helped oversee detention operations, interviewing more than 600 detainees in the process. He witnessed how the Americans’ reputations improved when the detainees were treated fairly and humanely. By contrast, he was the first advocate to meet with Mohammed after five years in custody. Mohammed has accepted Prince as his defense attorney, for now. Prince, who has participated in, but never led, a capital murder trial, acknowledges that difficult and uncertain times lie ahead. His legal team includes Idaho-based civilian lawyers Scott McKay and David Nevin, and Army Lt. Col. Michael Acuff, as well as an intelligence analyst and a paralegal. The American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers have also teamed up to find volunteers to help Prince. “Our government is the most powerful force on the face of the earth,” explained Prince. “It can take away your family, it can take away your property, it can take away your life. Everyone deserves to stand on equal footing before the government and deserves to have an attorney who will make the government do its job.” Q
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