Stuart Couch

Stuart Couch is an American lawyer, veteran, and immigration judge. [1][2][3]

Stuart Couch
Personal details
Alma materDuke University (BA)
Campbell University (JD)
OccupationAttorney
Marine
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Marine Corps
Years of service1994-2003
Rank Lieutenant Colonel
UnitJ.A.G. Corps

Early life and education

Couch graduated Duke University in 1987. He graduated from Campbell University with his J.D. in 1994. Upon graduation from law school, he entered U.S. Marine JAG Corps.

Career

Couch had a friend from his Marine Corps service ⁠ ⁠—  Michael Horrocks ⁠ ⁠—  who was first officer on United Airlines Flight 175, which was hijacked and deliberately crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001.[2][4]

Couch returned to service, following the attacks, so he could "get a crack at the guys who attacked the United States."[3] Couch was assigned to serve as one of the prosecutors of Mohamedou Ould Salahi in his case before a military commission at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.[5] In 2003, Couch withdrew from Salahi's prosecution team because he believed he was asked to use evidence obtained through means of coercive interrogation that violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice, U.S. laws, and the United States' treaty obligations.[3] He said he believed that Salahi was guilty but felt that evidence derived from torture was inadmissible in court.[5]

On July 19, 2007, The Globe and Mail quoted an email from Couch: "I would not characterize my decision re: Salahi as 'comfortable' but in retrospect would still make the same career decision,"[6] His resignation received national media coverage, including a long article in 2007 in the Wall Street Journal. It said that he had argued with Robert L. Swann, the Chief Prosecutor.

On February 26, 2009, the Virginia Law Weekly also profiled Couch.[7] In a lecture, Couch said: "In the fall of 2003, something caused Salahi to start singing like Beyonce." Couch was later to learn that Salahi had been put under "special projects" interrogation plan authorized by the Office of the Legal Counsel in consultation with the CIA, in which specific enhanced interrogation techniques, often considered torture, were used.[7]

Controversy after promotion

Following Couch's August 2019 promotion to the Justice Department's Board of Immigration Appeals, a body that holds final decision-making power on deportations, several news outlets including Mother Jones and Newsweek reported how Couch was once the subject of a 2016 formal complaint filed with the Justice Department. The complaint detailed how Couch threatened a two-year-old child in immigration court with a dog attack if he did not behave. The affidavit stated that when the boy failed to obey Couch's command, he yelled “I have a very big dog in my office, and if you don't be quiet, he will come out and bite you!”[8]

Any time the boy made noise Couch continued to threaten the toddler with a dog as the Spanish translator interpreted the threats. An observer in the court room noted that whenever threats were made, the judge would turn off the recording device. The judge later suggested that he had a practice of threatening children with "scary animals". It is unclear whether any disciplinary actions were taken. Couch was appointed to the BIA in August 2019.

Congressional testimony

Couch was scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on November 8, 2007.[9][10][11] An e-mail from the Department of Defense's General Counsel, William J. Haynes, II, informed him on November 7, 2007: "... as a sitting judge and former prosecutor, it is improper for you to testify about matters still pending in the military court system, and you are not to appear before the committee to testify tomorrow."

Congressional Representative Jerrold Nadler criticized the Bush Presidency for stonewalling by withholding Couch's testimony.[11]

See also

References
  1. Jess Bravin (March 31, 2007). "The Conscience of the Colonel". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
  2. Jess Bravin (March 31, 2007). "The Conscience of the Colonel". mirror of the Wall Street Journal article. Retrieved April 11, 2007.
  3. "Three tales of Gitmo 'taint'". Monterey Herald. April 7, 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
  4. Robert Scheer (April 4, 2007). "Leave Your Morals at the Border". The Nation. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
  5. Scott Horton (April 2, 2007). "Colonel with a Conscience". Harper's. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
  6. Colin Freeze (July 17, 2007). "Tortuous tale of Guantanamo captive: A declassified transcript reveals how a former Montreal resident crossed four continents and the paths of key al-Qaeda personalities". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2007-07-20.
  7. Harry Crump (2009-02-27). "Military Prosecutor Recounts Guantanamo Bay Case". Virginia Law Weekly. Vol. 61 no. 19. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2009-02-26.
  8. Noah Lanard (September 10, 2019). "Judge Promoted by Trump Administration Threatened a 2-Year-Old With an Attack Dog". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
  9. "U.S. Marine lawyer barred from testifying". United Press International. November 8, 2007. Archived from the original on July 29, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
  10. Laurie Kellman (November 8, 2007). "Waterboarding is torture, ex-Navy interrogator says". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on May 21, 2011. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
  11. "House Panel Gets Earful On Waterboarding: In Spite Of Bickering In D.C., Experts Say Interrogation Method Is Torture, Must Never Be Used". CBS News. November 8, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
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