Brian L. Mizer is a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

JAG officer. He is from the

State State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. He attended

Creighton University Creighton University () is a private research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate ...

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, Nebraska, for his undergraduate degree and

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...

for his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

. He is notable for serving as one of the chief defense counsel for

Salim Ahmed Hamdan Salim Ahmed Salim Hamdan (; born February 25, 1968) is a Yemeni man, captured during the invasion of Afghanistan, declared by the United States government to be an illegal enemy combatant and held as a detainee at Guantanamo Bay from 2002 to No ...

, a former driver of

Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...

, when he faced charges before a

Guantánamo military commission Guantánamo (, , ) is a municipality and city in southeast Cuba and capital of Guantánamo Province. Guantánamo is served by the Caimanera port near the site of a U.S. naval base. The area produces sugarcane and cotton wool. These are tradition ...

. On 23 April 2008 attorneys working on behalf of

requested permission to meet with Abdulmalik Mohammed and

Mustafa al-Hawsawi Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi (; born August 5, 1968) is a Saudi Arabian citizen. He is alleged to have acted as a key financial facilitator for the September 11 attacks in the United States. Mustafa al-Hawsawi was captured in Pakistan by Pakist ...

. Hamdan's attorneys had previously requested permission to get the "

high-value detainees Extrajudicial prisoners of the United States, in the context of the early twenty-first century War on Terrorism, refers to foreign nationals the United States detains outside of the legal process required within United States legal jurisdiction. ...

" to answer written questions, which would confirm whether Hamdan played a role in al Qaeda, and, if so, if it had been a peripheral one. Abdulmalik Mohammed and Mustafa al-Hawsawi declined to answer the questions, because they said they had no way to know that the questions purporting to be from Hamdan's attorneys was not a ruse. Andrea J. Prasow requested permission for Lieutenant Commander Brian Mizer to meet in person with the two men to try to assure them that the questions were not a ruse, and would not be shared with their interrogators. Hamdan was convicted in August 2008. His Presiding Officer's decision that he should be credited with the time he had already served, left him with a scheduled release date of December 31, 2008—just over four months later. Chief Prosecutor Lawrence Morris filed an appeal, asserting that Presiding Officers didn't have the authority to credit time served. ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' quoted Mizer's response: ''"I really am at a loss for words. The government, having stacked the deck, is now complaining about the hand it was dealt."'' In November 2008 ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...

'' quoted Mizer explaining why the use of torture would complicate the prosecution of other suspects. : Mizer told reporters that he was surprised to learn that Hamdan had been transferred to Yemen on 1 December 2008, calling it "welcome news". In the fall of 2008 chief prosecutor Colonel

Morris Davis Morris Durham "Moe" Davis (born July 31, 1958) is an American retired U.S. Air Force colonel, attorney, educator, politician, and former administrative law judge. Davis was appointed the third Chief Prosecutor of the Guantanamo military commiss ...

resigned after a conflict of authority with Brigadier General Thomas W. Hartmann. Davis felt that Hartmann had inappropriately usurped his own role in designating which captives should face charges, when Hartmann's role as Legal Advisor to the Convening Authority for the Guantánamo Military Commissions required neutrality. Davis became a critic of the operation of the Military Commission system, and on December 8, 2008, ''The New York Times'' reported that Mizer planned to call upon Davis to testify on undue command influence in Hamdan's case. In early January 2009 the

Office of Military Commissions The Guantanamo military commissions were established by President George W. Bush through a military order on November 13, 2001, to try certain non-citizen terrorism suspects at the Guantanamo Bay prison. To date, there have been a total of eight ...

dismissed all charges against all the suspects, with plans to re-initiate those charges later. Commentators described the state of the cases against the captives as "chaotic". According to Peter Finn, reporting in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', Mizer greeted the news with disbelief, stating: ''"This is military justice 101."'' When President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

ordered the closure of Guantánamo base on January 22, 2009 Mizer commented: :

Media appearances

Mizer was one of the individuals who appeared in

Laura Poitras Laura Poitras (; born February 2, 1964) is an American director and producer of documentary films. Poitras has received numerous awards for her work, including the 2015 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ''Citizenfour'', about Edwa ...

2010 documentary film ''The Oath''. A ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' review of the film described Mizer as a ''"compelling figure"''. Mizer appeared in

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

interviews on multiple occasions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mizer, Brian L. Guantanamo Bay attorneys Living people Year of birth missing (living people)