Evan Jonathan Wallach (born November 11, 1949) is an American lawyer and

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

United States circuit judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (in case citations, Fed. Cir. or C.A.F.C.) is one of the 13 United States courts of appeals. It has special appellate jurisdiction over certain categories of cases in the U.S. federa ...

. A former judge of the

United States Court of International Trade The United States Court of International Trade (case citations: Ct. Int'l Trade), or CIT, is a U.S. federal court that adjudicates civil actions arising out of U.S. customs and international trade laws. Seated in Lower Manhattan, New York City, ...

, he is one of the nation's foremost experts on

war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...

and the

law of war The law of war is a component of international law that regulates the conditions for initiating war (''jus ad bellum'') and the conduct of hostilities (''jus in bello''). Laws of war define sovereignty and nationhood, states and territories, ...

Early life, education, and career

Wallach was born in

Superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places * Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lak ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, the son of Albert Wallach, a millworker at the Magma Copper Company, and Sara Wallach, a local artist who helped run the town library and Little Theater group. Wallach was decorated for his service in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, and received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

in 1973, followed by a

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 ...

at the

University of California Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkeley ...

in 1976.Joint Committee on Printing,
Official Congressional Directory
, 2013-2014'' (February 2014), p. 863-64. Wallach joined the firm of Lionel Sawyer & Collins in Las Vegas, Nevada, as an associate, in 1976. He received a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

with honors in International Law from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1981. He became a partner at Lionel Sawyer & Collins in 1982, remaining in that position until 1995. He was able to take a leave from the firm to continue providing service to the U.S. military. He attended the Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

and served in the

United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Army, also known as the U.S. Army JAG Corps, is the legal arm of the United States Army. It is composed of Army officers who are also lawyers ("judge advocates"), who provide legal service ...

in the International Affairs Division of the Office of TJAG at

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

during the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

, where he assisted in advising on the law of war and investigating war crimes allegedly committed by Iraqi leaders. He has taken JAG Officer's Basic and Advanced Courses.

Work on the law of war

As an adjunct law professor Wallach specializes in the law of war. From 1989 to 1995 he served as Judge Advocate General in the Nevada Army National Guard, with the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. His responsibilities included giving annual lectures to

Military Police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...

regarding their legal obligations on treatment of prisoners. During the Gulf War he served at the Pentagon in the International Affairs Division of the Office of The Judge Advocate of the Army, where he assisted in advising on the law of war and investigating war crimes allegedly committed by Iraqi leaders. From 1997 to 2011 he was an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, but the term is gen ...

in Law of War at both

New York Law School New York Law School (NYLS) is a private, American law school in the Tribeca neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City. The third oldest law school in New York City, its history predates its official founding in 1891 by Theodore William Dwight, T ...

and

Brooklyn Law School Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a Private university, private law school in New York City. Founded in 1901, it has approximately 1,100 students. Brooklyn Law School's faculty includes 60 full-time faculty, 15 emeriti faculty, and adjunct faculty. ...

. From 2001 to 2012 he was a

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting scientist, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic fo ...

in Law of War at the

University of Münster The University of Münster (, until 2023 , WWU) is a public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. With more than 43,000 students and over 120 fields of study in 15 departments, it is Germany's ...

. Since 2012 he has been an adjunct professor at the

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest law school in Washington, D. ...

and currently teaches a course called "The Law Governing Fully Autonomous Fighting Vehicles." Wallach is a member of the International Law of War Association, which is a "loose confederation of military lawyers, academics, and government officials including members of the judiciary, who are interested in the advancement of a legal regime to ameliorate suffering and for the regulation of the use of armed force in armed conflicts". He is also a member of the American Law Institute and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Federal judicial service

On June 27, 1995, President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

nominated Wallach to serve as a judge of the

, to the seat vacated by Judge Edward D. Re. He was confirmed by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

on August 11, 1995, and received his commission on August 14, 1995. He served on that court until his elevation to the court of appeals on November 18, 2011. 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 ...

nominated him on July 28, 2011, to serve on the

. His nomination was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on October 6, 2011, by a voice vote. On November 8, 2011, his nomination was confirmed by the Senate by a 99–0 vote. He received his commission on November 18, 2011. He assumed senior status on May 31, 2021.

Publications

Wallach has had articles published both in mainstream media and legal journals, and has been widely cited in the media. Some of these include: *Outline of the law of war. *Waterboarding Used to Be a Crime. *Afghanistan, Quirin, and Uchiyama: Does the Sauce Suit the Gander? *The Logical Nexus Between The Decision To Deny Application of The Third Geneva Convention To The Taliban and al Qaeda, and the Mistreatment of Prisoners in Abu Ghraib. *The Procedural and Evidentiary Rules of the Post World War II War Crimes Trials: Did They Provide an Outline for International Legal Procedure? *Drop by Drop: Forgetting the History of Water Torture in U.S. Courts. *A Tiny Problem With Huge Implications - Nanotech Agents as Enablers or Substitutes for Banned Chemical Weapons: Is a New Treaty Needed? *Pray Fire First Gentlemen of France: Has 21st Century Chivalry Been Subsumed by Humanitarian Law? *The Economic Calculus of Fielding Autonomous Fighting Vehicles Compliant with the Laws of Armed Conflict. He is also the author of "Jake and Me," a coming of age novel about a young man in the 1920s Arizona mountains.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallach, Evan Jonathan 1949 births Living people Alumni of Hughes Hall, Cambridge Brooklyn Law School faculty The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School alumni Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Judges of the United States Court of International Trade Recipients of the Air Medal UC Berkeley School of Law alumni United States Army officers United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War United States federal judges appointed by Bill Clinton United States court of appeals judges appointed by Barack Obama University of Arizona alumni University of Nevada, Las Vegas faculty