Visiting University Law Prof. Linda Malone is one of three law professors working in the U.S. Department of Justice Regime Crime Liaison Office. The DOJ Liaison Office advises the Iraqi tribunal judges in their decisions, including deliberations over former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's sentencing.
A law professor at William & Mary's Marshall-Wythe School of Law, Malone is teaching a course entitled "The Iraqi Tribunal Clinic" at the University Law School this year and also oversees students who are acting as law clerks to the Iraqi judges.
"The judges give them questions they need to have addressed ... and they write memorandum on the law that applies to those situations," Malone said.
Third-year Law student Aaron Peskin said that the primary purpose of the class was to write memorandum that would eventually be sent off to the judges in Baghdad.
Malone also acts as the liaison between the Law students and the Department of Justice, which in turn works with the Iraqi judges.
"She acts as a buffer between us and the liaison office," Peskin said.
The students don't communicate with the judges or Justice Department on an ongoing basis, due in part to language barriers.
"None of us are fluent in Arabic," Malone said.
The class consists of 12 second and third-year Law students, who are grouped into teams of two.
"At this point in the semester, they're working on the first draft of their memorandum," Malone said.
Peskin explained that most of their time was spent on their own doing independent work, and they only have about an hour per week of class time.
"Most of our time is spent on our own writing and researching," Peskin said.
Most of the questions each team were given were broad enough to split between teammates.
[My partner and I] "keep in touch ... but there's not a lot of collaboration," Peskin said.
The students were given many different questions, such as commander responsibility, general procedure and the basic question of the validity of the tribunal.
"I think it's really extraordinary the amount of time and energy the students put into it," Malone said. "It takes a big commitment."
The twelve students took the course for several reasons, Malone said, including an interest in public service, the military or just interested in the Iraqi trials.
"They all have some interest in international studies, but that's not always the case," Malone said.
While first-year students aren't eligible this semester, the class is fully enrolled this semester and the next. Malone is also offering a separate clinic like this but for other international tribunal courts.
The students' work is highly confidential due to security and litigation issues, but those involved in the class felt there were benefits to their work.
"We really see our work utilized," Malone said.
Peskin added that the judges would actually see their work, and they could see the effects of their work in newspapers.
"It's nice to see our work in the real world," Malone said.
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