Eugene Fidell

Eugene Fidell (lawyer)
Born	March 31, 1945
Alma mater	Queens College, Harvard Law School
Jurist critic of the Bush Presidency's policy on captives taken in the "war on terror". Lawyer of Bowe Bergdahl.

Eugene R. Fidell is an American lawyer and notable expert in military law. He is currently Senior Research Scholar in Law and Florence Rogatz Visiting Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School. He was the lawyer of former Taliban prisoner (and possible deserter) Bowe Bergdahl 2014-2017, before Bergdahl was sentenced to be dishonorably discharged.

Military service

United States Coast Guard 1969-1972

Family

Fidell is currently married to former U.S. Supreme Court Reporter Linda Greenhouse.

Current practice

Fidell is a senior partner with Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell llp. He joined the firm in 1984. He is also asked to serve as a commentator on military law on TV. Since 2006 he has been an Adjunct Professor at Washington College of Law. He has been a visiting lecturer at Harvard Law School and Yale Law School. Fidell is currently the President of the National Institute of Military Justice.

Guantanamo

Fidell has been a critic of the Bush Presidency's policy on captives taken in the "war on terror".

Commenting on District Court Justice Joyce Hens Green's analysis of the classified dossiers prepared for captives' Combatant Status Review Tribunals Fidell said:

"It suggests the procedure is a sham, If a case like that can get through, what it means is that the merest scintilla of evidence against someone would carry the day for the government, even if there's a mountain of evidence on the other side."

Clark Hoyt, or the New York Times described Fidell holding back in participating in preparing a brief submitted to the Supreme Court on behalf of National Institute of Military Justice and the Bar Association of the District of Columbia because of the concern it would be considered a conflict of interest, since his wife journalist Linda Greenhouse was covering the case. NIMH is associated with American University's Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C..

Slate magazine published an article written by Emily Bazelon and Dahlia Lithwick, criticizing the New York Times for failing to show more support for their employee. According to Bazelon and Lithwick the main critic of Greenhouse covering stories where her husband Fidell has a role is M. Edward Whelan III of the National Review. They wrote:

Unable to point to any actual bias, Whelan resorts to the petulant claim that the effect of Fidell's involvement in the detainee cases "would be impossible to separate … from the broader political bias that pervades so much of Greenhouse's reporting."

The Washington Times published an op-ed by Fidell on 7 December 2008. He concluded:

The new administration should suspend all military commission proceedings while it settles on an overall policy. Similarly, it should seek a "timeout" for all detainee-related litigation while it fashions a coherent legal strategy. In the long run, this will save time for everyone, including the detainees, who in the eyes of the world have become symbols of a failed system.

Publications

• Eugene R. Fidell (2002). "Evolving Military Justice". Naval Institute Press.
• Eugene R. Fidell (2006). "Guide to the Rules of Practice and Procedure for the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces".
• Eugene R. Fidell (2002). "Annotated Guide: Procedures for Trials by Military Commissions of Certain Non-United States Citizens in the War Against Terrorism". LexisNexis.
• Eugene R. Fidell (2003). "Military Commission Instructions Sourcebooks". LexisNexis.
• Eugene R. Fidell, Elizabeth L. Hillman, Dwight H. Sullivan (2007). "Military Justice: Cases and Materials". LexisNexis.

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