Morris Davis
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
officer and lawyer, was appointed to serve as the third Chief Prosecutor in the Guantanamo military commissions.
He resigned from the position and retired from active duty in October 2008.
Military career
| date | rank | post |
| 1983-1988 | Lieutenant Lieutenant A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank... /Captain |
Eastern Space and Missile Center, Patrick Air Force Base Patrick Air Force Base Patrick Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located between Satellite Beach and Cocoa Beach, in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It was named in honor of Major General Mason Patrick. An Air Force Space Command base, it is home to the 45th Space Wing... |
| 1989-1991 | Captain/Major Major Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ... |
Bolling Air Force Base Bolling Air Force Base Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling is a military installation, located in Southeast Washington, D.C., established on 1 October 2010 in accordance with congressional legislation implementing the recommendations of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission... |
| 1991-1992 | Major | student, The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School educates military, civilian, and international personnel in legal and leadership skills. The center is operated by the United States Army and is located in Charlottesville, Virginia... , U.S. Army |
| 1992-1995 | Major | instructor, Air Force Judge Advocate General School |
| 1995-1997 | Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence... |
Staff Judge Advocate, Columbus Air Force Base Columbus Air Force Base Columbus Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately north of Columbus, Mississippi.The host unit at Columbus is the 14th Flying Training Wing assigned to the Air Education and Training Command Nineteenth Air Force. The 14 FTW's mission is to provide specialized... |
| 1997-2000 | Lieutenant Colonel | Staff Judge Advocate, Dyess Air Force Base Dyess Air Force Base Dyess Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately southwest of Abilene, Texas.The host unit at Dyess is the 7th Bomb Wing assigned to the Air Combat Command Twelfth Air Force... |
| 2000-2003 | Lieutenant Colonel/Colonel Colonel Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures... |
Deputy Commandant, Air Force Judge Advocate General School |
| 2003-2005 | Colonel | Director, Air Force Legal Information Services, Air Force Legal Services Agency |
| January 2005- September 2005 |
Colonel | Staff Judge Advocate F.E. Warren Air Force Base |
| September 2005- October 2007 |
Colonel | Chief Prosecutor, Guantanamo military commission Guantanamo military commission The Guantanamo military commissions are military tribunals created by the Military Commissions Act of 2006 for prosecuting detainees held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps.- History :... s |
Education
| year | degree |
| 1980 | Bachelor of science Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on... in criminal justice, Appalachian State University Appalachian State University Appalachian State University is a comprehensive , public, coeducational university located in Boone, North Carolina, United States. Appalachian State, also referred to as Appalachian, App State, or simply App, is the sixth largest institution in the University of North Carolina system... , Boone, North Carolina Boone, North Carolina Boone is a town located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, United States. Boone's population was reported as 17,122, as of 2010... |
| 1983 | Juris doctorate, North Carolina Central University North Carolina Central University North Carolina Central University is a public historically black university in the University of North Carolina system, located in Durham, North Carolina, offering programs at the baccalaureate, master’s, professional and doctoral levels.... School of Law, Durham, North Carolina Durham, North Carolina Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census... |
| 1992 | Master of laws in military law (concentration in government procurement law), The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School educates military, civilian, and international personnel in legal and leadership skills. The center is operated by the United States Army and is located in Charlottesville, Virginia... , Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for... |
| 1992 | Master of laws in government procurement law, The National Law Center, George Washington University George Washington University The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States... , Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution.... |
Awards
Davis has received the following awards and recognition.- Outstanding Judge Advocate for Headquarters Air Force in 1990.
- Meritorious Service MedalMeritorious Service Medal (United States)The Meritorious Service Medal is a military decoration presented to members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguished themselves by outstanding meritorious achievement or service to the United States subsequent to January 16, 1969...
with four oak leaf clusters - Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
- Air Force Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster
- Southwest Asia Service MedalSouthwest Asia Service MedalThe Southwest Asia Service Medal is a military award of the United States armed forces which was created by order of President George H.W. Bush on March 12, 1991. The award is intended to recognize those military service members who performed duty during the years of the Persian Gulf War...
Guantanamo service
Unlike his predecessors, Fred BorchFred Borch
Colonel Frederic L. Borch is a former military attorney who served as Chief Prosecutor of the Guantanamo military commissions before he was replaced by Robert L. Swann after it was alleged that Borch was trying to corrupt the commissions.-Background:...
and Robert L. Swann
Robert L. Swann (military lawyer)
Robert L. Swann is an American lawyer and retired Army colonel. He is currently the lead prosecutor on the cases of Khalid Sheik Muhammed and Mr...
, Davis has been a visible public figure.
His statements have triggered controversy.
Questionable claims
A National PostNational Post
The National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
article published January 10, 2006 contained extensive quotes from Davis's arguments before the commission, including at one in which Davis said: "Thanks to the American medics who stepped over their dead friend and tended to Mr. Khadr, he's alive today,"
SFC
SFC
-Science and engineering:* Brake specific fuel consumption an engineering term that is used to describe the fuel consumption of a shaft engine it terms of its output power...
Christopher Speer
Christopher Speer
Sergeant First Class Christopher James Speer was a combat medic with a Delta Force team who was mortally wounded during a skirmish in Afghanistan, on July 27, 2002...
, a Special Forces medic, was fatally wounded along with two coalition forces, and multiple U.S. forces were wounded and evacuated as a result of the firefight (U.S. v Omar Khadr, Nov 2005). Though medics did not specifically step over Speer's body to tend to Khadr's wounds, two other dead coalition forces were on the ground as Khadr was receiving treatment and evacuation. SFC Speer was also evacuated from the scene and died in a hospital ten days after the firefight.
Davis also asserted that Sergeant Layne Morris was wounded by the same grenade that mortally wounded Speer. But at least one detailed newspaper account described Morris being wounded prior to the aerial bombardment, four hours prior to Speer's wounding.
Comments on the character of the suspects and their attorneys
Khadr's attorney, Muneer Ahmad of American UniversityAmerican University
American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...
, accused Colonel Davis of ethical misconduct for referring to Khadr as a terrorist and a murderer during the January 10 press conference. Ahmad asked the Presiding Officer
Presiding Officer (Guantanamo Military Commissions)
The United States of America has charged Guantanamo captives before "Military Commissions", each presided over by a Presiding Officer.The Presiding Officer were initially to serve as the first among equals on bodies were the commission members served the roles similar to both judge and jury.In the...
to sanction Colonel Davis for the comments, but the presiding officer found the comments were fair and balanced given repeated negative out of court statements Ahmad made for months prior to the hearing. When asked why the prosecution had finally broken its silence, Davis said:
On February 28, 2006 Davis spoke out again regarding the commissions, saying:
Davis has also challenged military counsel for Australian detainee David Matthew Hicks by threatening prosecution of Major Michael Mori
Michael Mori
Michael Dante Mori is a lieutenant colonel in the United States Marine Corps. Mori was the military lawyer for Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks.-History:...
, Hicks's detailed lawyer, for violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice
Uniform Code of Military Justice
The Uniform Code of Military Justice , is the foundation of military law in the United States. It is was established by the United States Congress in accordance with the authority given by the United States Constitution in Article I, Section 8, which provides that "The Congress shall have Power . ....
.
Mori responded "Are they trying to intimidate me?"
"The Guantánamo I Know"
On June 26, 2007 an op-ed by Davis, entitled "The Guantanamo I know", was published in the New York Times. (and what did he say?)Supreme court to hear challenges to the Military Commissions Act
In addition to authorizing military commissions similar to those the Supreme Court overturned the Military Commissions Act of 2006Military Commissions Act of 2006
The United States Military Commissions Act of 2006, also known as HR-6166, was an Act of Congress signed by President George W. Bush on October 17, 2006. Drafted in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision on Hamdan v...
was intended to close off all the remaining writs of habeas corpus.
On June 29, 2007 the Supreme Court agreed to hear outstanding habeas corpus, opening up the possibility that they might overturn some or all of the Military Commissions Act.
Davis called the Supreme Court's intention to review the MCA "meddling":
Resignation as Chief Prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay
In October 2007 Colonel Davis resigned from his position as Chief Prosecutor and became the Head of the Air Force Judiciary stating that "The guy who said waterboardingWaterboarding
Waterboarding is a form of torture in which water is poured over the face of an immobilized captive, thus causing the individual to experience the sensation of drowning...
is A-okay I was not going to take orders from. I quit", hours after he was informed that controversial General Counsel William Haynes
William J. Haynes, II
William James "Jim" Haynes II is an American lawyer and former General Counsel of the Department of Defense during President George W. Bush's administration. Haynes resigned as General Counsel effective March 2008...
would be his superior. He also charged that there was meddling from the Pentagon, and claimed this presented serious conflicts of interest:
Davis states that he was denied an end-of-tour medal for his two years at Guantanamo because he resigned and later spoke out about problems in the Pentagon's Office of Military Commissions. Davis stated about the medal denial, "I tell the truth, and I get labeled as having served dishonorably. I'm very concerned about the chilling effect . . . on the process".
Davis has frequently spoken out against the Commissions, since his resignation.
Post-military career
Davis was named the head of the Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade Division of the Congressional Research ServiceCongressional Research Service
The Congressional Research Service , known as "Congress's think tank", is the public policy research arm of the United States Congress. As a legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress, CRS works exclusively and directly for Members of Congress, their Committees and staff on a...
in December 2008; and was fired from this job in late November or early December 2009. This occurred because of an op-ed
Op-ed
An op-ed, abbreviated from opposite the editorial page , is a newspaper article that expresses the opinions of a named writer who is usually unaffiliated with the newspaper's editorial board...
Davis wrote in the Wall Street Journal.
Davis criticized a preliminary report from the inter-agency review team President Obama authorized for proposing looser judicial standards when the suspects faced more serious charges.
Davis wrote: "The administration must choose. Either federal courts or military commissions, but not both, for the detainees that deserve to be prosecuted and punished for their past conduct."
See also
- Robert Preston
- John Carr
- Carrie Wolf
- Fred BorchFred BorchColonel Frederic L. Borch is a former military attorney who served as Chief Prosecutor of the Guantanamo military commissions before he was replaced by Robert L. Swann after it was alleged that Borch was trying to corrupt the commissions.-Background:...
- Stuart CouchStuart CouchLieutenant Colonel Stuart Couch is an American lawyer and officer in the United States Marine Corps.-Reaction to the attacks of September 11, 2001:...
- Darrel Vandeveld
External links
- Retired colonel fights Library of Congress over firing December 6, 2010
- Gitmo detainees were exploited for intelligence
- U.S. v Omar Khadr (.pdf), US Department of Defense, November 2005
- Official biography (.pdf), US Department of Defense
Video
- Morris Davis interview from Democracy Now!, July 16, 2008