James L. Pohl

James Pohl, in court, in Guantanamo

Colonel James L. Pohl is an American lawyer and officer in the United States Army.[1]

He is notable for having been appointed as a judge on a Guantanamo military commission.[1] He is presiding over the commission of Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, Walid bin Attash, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Ammar al-Baluchi, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi.[2] From November 2011 to July 2014, Pohl also presided over the military commission of Abd el-Rahim al-Nashiri.[3]

He is notable for serving as the judge of several of the GIs in the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse cases, and barring the demolition of Abu Ghraib prison because he had ruled it a crime scene.

In December 2008, Pohl was appointed to replace Ralph Kohlmann as the chief presiding officer for the military commissions.[4]

Pohl received his J.D. from Pepperdine University in 1978.[2]

  1. ^ a b "Col., James L. Pohl, US Army" (PDF). United States Air Force. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-16. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  2. ^ a b Rosenberg, Carol (2012-04-29). "9/11 judge has handled tough cases before".
  3. ^ "USS Cole case judge names Air Force successor". miamiherald. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  4. ^ Rosenberg, Carol (2008-12-15). "New Guantanamo chief judge warns of change with Obama". Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.