Guantánamo Chief Defense Counsel, Confined for Contempt, Gets Temporary Freedom
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth in Washington on Friday delayed acting on a petition that challenges a military judge's order holding a chief defense lawyer at Guantánamo Bay in criminal contempt, a move that gave the military more time to resolve the conflict.
November 03, 2017 at 06:34 PM
7 minute read
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth in Washington. Credit: Diego M. Radzinschi / The NLJ
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth in Washington on Friday delayed acting on a petition that challenges a military judge's order holding a chief defense lawyer at Guantánamo Bay in criminal contempt, a move that gave the military more time to resolve the conflict.
An hour before Lamberth was expected to rule on the habeas petition filed on behalf of General John Baker, a senior Pentagon official ordered Baker's release from confinement, according to the Miami Herald. At the same time, the official deferred punishment for Baker pending review of the contempt order by the military's convening authority, former Crowell & Moring senior counsel Harvey Rishikof.
Baker, the second highest-ranking lawyer in the Marine Corps, had refused Air Force Col. Vance Spath's order to rescind his decision to release three civilian lawyers from their representation of the accused mastermind of the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000. The lawyers had cited ethical reasons for leaving the case.
Spath claimed that he, not Baker, had the authority to decide whether to excuse the three defense lawyers. Baker had been ordered to 21 days of confinement at the U.S. naval facility at Guantanamo.
Lamberth heard arguments Thursday on Baker's habeas petition, filed by Miller & Chevalier's Barry Pollack. During Friday's hearing, the judge reportedly said the Pentagon's release of Baker showed good faith and he would give the military some time to deal with the conflict.
“I'm not going to stand down. I'm simply going to give the military time to clean up its own act,” Lamberth said, according to the Miami Herald. “And its first step was a good one.”
Pollack called Baker's release “plainly the right first step. The next step should be for the military judge's contempt finding to be set aside and the sentence vacated altogether.”
Pollack said he would return to Lamberth's court if the military's convening authority did not reverse the contempt ruling.
In addition to holding Baker in contempt and ordering him confined for 21 days, Spath had ordered the three civilian lawyers to appear in Alexandria, Virginia, Friday morning for a hearing in the Cole case via video link. The lawyers did not appear. Spath took no action against the lawyers and recessed the hearing until Monday.
Read more:
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth in Washington. Credit: Diego M. Radzinschi / The NLJ
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth in Washington on Friday delayed acting on a petition that challenges a military judge's order holding a chief defense lawyer at Guantánamo Bay in criminal contempt, a move that gave the military more time to resolve the conflict.
An hour before Lamberth was expected to rule on the habeas petition filed on behalf of General John Baker, a senior Pentagon official ordered Baker's release from confinement, according to the Miami Herald. At the same time, the official deferred punishment for Baker pending review of the contempt order by the military's convening authority, former
Baker, the second highest-ranking lawyer in the Marine Corps, had refused Air Force Col. Vance Spath's order to rescind his decision to release three civilian lawyers from their representation of the accused mastermind of the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000. The lawyers had cited ethical reasons for leaving the case.
Spath claimed that he, not Baker, had the authority to decide whether to excuse the three defense lawyers. Baker had been ordered to 21 days of confinement at the U.S. naval facility at Guantanamo.
Lamberth heard arguments Thursday on Baker's habeas petition, filed by
“I'm not going to stand down. I'm simply going to give the military time to clean up its own act,” Lamberth said, according to the Miami Herald. “And its first step was a good one.”
Pollack called Baker's release “plainly the right first step. The next step should be for the military judge's contempt finding to be set aside and the sentence vacated altogether.”
Pollack said he would return to Lamberth's court if the military's convening authority did not reverse the contempt ruling.
In addition to holding Baker in contempt and ordering him confined for 21 days, Spath had ordered the three civilian lawyers to appear in Alexandria,
Read more:
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
US Courts Announce Closures in Observance of Jimmy Carter National Mourning Day
2 minute read
Who Got the Work: Gibson Dunn and Wilmer to Defend BlackRock in ESG Antitrust Lawsuit
2 minute read
New York Times Moves for $100K in Attorney Fees Against Dfinity Foundation
3 minute read
Split 4th Circuit Revives Constitutional Challenge to Child Vaccine Mandate
Trending Stories
- 1How We Won: Samsung Defeats Data Breach Class Action
- 2With Florida’s Lateral Hiring Remaining Steady in 2024, Here’s the Top Hires Throughout the State
- 3Capital Markets Partner Rejoins O’Melveny Ahead of Expected Uptick in Demand
- 4Pharma Company Faces Breach-of-Contract Claim Over $1.3 Million in Unpaid Invoices
- 5KPMG Law Seeks Alternative Business License, Shaking Up Legal Status Quo
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
