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Every criminal defense and other trial lawyer faces the possible moment of truth about how to handle an unjust judicial directive. This week's guest Rosa Eliades -- along with lead counsel Richard Kammen (who wore a kangaroo pin to Guantanamo court and has pointed words about the military commissions), and co-counsel Mary Spears -- in 2017 obtained approval from now-former Marine criminal defense Brigadier General John Baker to withdraw as civilian defense lawyers for Guantanamo defendant Abd Al-Rahim Hussein Muhammed Al-Nashiri, due to their not receiving judicial authorization to share critical but classified evidence with their client. 

The story did not end there, when their military commission judge -- Vance Spath -- not only would not accept that withdrawal, but ultimately ordered 21 days of home detention (later stayed by another authority) for contempt against that  general for correctly releasing the trio without first checking with judge Spath. I wrote more about this case in 2017, here. 

Rosa and Mary obtained relief from the D.C. Circuit in 2019 (In Re Spears & Eliades,  921 F.3d 224 (D.C. Cir. 2019), as a remedy for the conflict of interest of Judge Spath's (unrevealed to the defense in 2017) having had a pending application to be an immigration judge, through the same Justice Department involved in the prosecution of Mr. Al-Nashiri. What would have happened had that judicial conflict and related relief not taken place? Having been a contract lawyer rather than Defense Department employee, Rick Kammen separately obtained relief from Judge Spath's actions. 

Rosa continued until early this year doing criminal defense as a civilian lawyer with the U.S. Department of Defense's Military Commissions Defense Organization. Now she is based in Washington, D.C., with her solo law practice, also doing consulting for lawyers, with her company called Emergence Consultants. 

Rosa is the sixth among Trial Lawyers College attendees and instructors to appear on our podcast. Fairfax criminal lawyer Jon Katz attended in 1995. The TLC focuses heavily on winning through finding the persuasive story in our case, working closely with our clients, investing and integrating ourselves into our client's case and cause, discovery who we truly are as people and lawyers, and being our best real selves, engaging in psychodrama and scene re-enactment.

This podcast with Fairfax, Virginia criminal / DUI lawyer Jon Katz is playable on all devices at podcast.BeatTheProsecution.com. For more information, visit https://KatzJustice.com or contact us at info@KatzJustice.com, 703-383-1100 (calling), or 571-406-7268 (text).

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