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Oral history interview with Ricardo M. Urbina, 2013.

Creator: Urbina, Ricardo Manuel, 1946-
Project: Rule of law oral history project
(see all project interviews)
Phys. Desc. :
Location: Columbia Center for Oral History
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Biographical Note

Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Retired.

Scope and Contents

Born: January 31, 1946, New York, NY. Education: B.A., Georgetown University; J.D., Georgetown University Law Center. Career: staff attorney, D.C. Public Defenders Service; private practice; Professor and Director, Criminal Justice Program, Howard University School of Law; Associate Judge, Superior Court of D.C.; Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Reminiscences: childhood in New York and family background; primary education and athletics; early career as lawyer in D.C.; application to judgeship; personal experience of September 11, 2001 attacks; initial knowledge of Guantánamo Bay detention center; reaction to photographs of Abu Ghraib detainees. Discussions: Supreme Court nomination proceedings of Robert Bork; procedural differences between federal and district courts; impact of September 11 attacks on responsibilities of a federal judge; typical habeas corpus petitions pre-War on Terror; judicial obligations in Guantánamo habeas corpus petitions; Supreme Court habeas corpus rulings; minority representation in judicial court systems; cause for 2012 retirement; personal study of aikido; lack of court dealings with enhanced interrogation techniques; pro bono lawyers representing Guantánamo Bay detainees; differences between Obama and Bush administration proceedings in relation to Guantánamo Bay; symbolical importance of closing Guantánamo Bay Detention Center; impact of habeas corpus trials on future court proceedings. Cases discussed: U.S. v. Espy (1998); Rasul v. Bush, (2004); Boumediene v. Bush, (2008); Kiyemba v. Obama, (2010); Kiyemba II; Al-Bihani v. Obama, (2010); Al-Adahi v. Obama, (2010); Latif v. Obama, (2012).

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Copyright by The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York, 2013.

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