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Jeffrey Groharing is a lawyer and an officer in the United States Marine Corps.[1]


On October 29, 1997 Groharing finished 1048 out of 9629 in a Marine Corps marathon, finishing in 3 hours and 25 minutes.[2] [3] On Sunday April 4, 2004 Groharing finished a ten mile run in one hour and four minutes, finishing 30th.[4]

Groharing graduated from Simpson College in 1993.[5]

Groharing graduated from the University of Nebraska School of Law in 1996.[6] Groharing joined the United States Marine Corps shortly thereafter.

Groharing married MaryAnne Sapio, Miss California 1999, on December 8, 2002.[5] Sapio is currently a Washington lobbyist.[7][8]

Guantanamo prosecution[]

Groharing is currently one of the officers appointed to prosecute. Guantanamo captives charged before the Guantanamo military commissions.[9] According to a Wall Street Journal article Groharing found that intelligence analysts were failing to cooperate with him by providing him with the information he needed to convict Omar Khadr.

The Wall Street Journal quoted Groharing about the Khadr's prosecution:

"What's the alternative? To not hold him accountable? We are certainly not going to give him a pass for killing a U.S. service member and plotting to kill many more, The difference between us and al Qaeda is that when we had him on the battlefield, we didn't summarily execute him,"

November 8, 2007 hearing[]

File:Omar Khadr image from video leaked to CBS.jpg

Image said to be of Omar Khadr, leaked to CBS News after Peter Brownback declined to allow it to be shown during the November 8 hearing.

Colonel Peter Brownback, the Presiding Officer of Omar Khadr's military commission, was expected to make a ruling as to whether Khadr was an "illegal enemy combatant".[10][11] Instead Brownback postponed that ruling because he learned that the Prosecution had failed to inform Khadr's Defense team of the existence of a potentially exculpatory witness.

Lieutenant Commander William Kuebler said Groharing informed the Defense of the existence of the potentially exculpatory witness less than two days before the hearing.[12][13]

According to Jennifer Daskal, an attorney at Human Rights Watch[14]:

“It is totally outrageous that the prosecution would try to push ahead with a hearing on whether or not Khadr was an unlawful enemy combatant, while all the time withholding from the defence potentially exculpatory information. Anyone who has ever gone to law school knows the fundamental legal and ethical rule: The prosecution cannot withhold exculpatory information from the defence.”


According to the Los Angeles Times[10]:

“Despite the new information and the pending federal appeal on whether the commissions have primary jurisdiction in the case, the lead prosecutor, Marine Maj. Jeff Groharing, argued that he should be allowed to present evidence that Khadr was an unlawful enemy combatant.”

Groharing also protested the delay to Brownback because of the inconvenience of having brought witnesses to Guantanamo who would now not be called upon for their testimony.[15][16] According to the Los Angeles Times[10]:

"Kuebler said of Groharing's argument, adding that the prosecutor was 'practically pounding on the table.'"

One of the pieces of evidence Groharing had protested not being allowed to present during the November 8, 2007 hearing was a videotape.[17][18][19] The videotape was said to show Omar Khadr planting mines. The next broadcast of the CBS News show 60 Minutes showed extensive clips from this video. Commander Jeffrey Gordon, a Department of Defense spokesman, claimed that the videotape had not been leaked by anyone within the Prosecution, or the Office of Military Commission.

December 2, 2007 hearing[]

Following Omar Khadr's December 2, 2007 hearing Groharing commented on the withholding of the identity of the Prosecution's witnesses[20]:

“It is conceivable, if not likely, that al Qaeda members or sympathizers could attempt to target witnesses.”

References[]

  1. Findlaw lawyer directory
  2. USMC Marine Corps Marathon Results — Men, Washington Post, October 29, 1997
  3. 2003 Marine Corps Marathon Armed Forces Team Results
  4. Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Road Race, Sunday, April 4, 2004
  5. 5.0 5.1 Touring the Years [1] Spring 2004
  6. At Guantanamo, even 'easy' cases have lingered [2] Jess Bravin December 18, 2006
  7. Miss California 1999 MaryAnne Sapio
  8. Director of Federal Affairs:MaryAnne Sapio
  9. At Guantanamo, even 'easy' cases have lingered, Wall Street Journal, December 18 2006 - - mirror
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 Terror case could turn on eyewitness: Defense lawyers say they just became aware of a potentially helpful onlooker in a Canadian suspect's alleged attack on U.S. troops [3] Carol J. Williams November 9, 2007[dead link] Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "LosAngelesTimes20071109" defined multiple times with different content
  11. Guantanamo Detainee Arraigned in Court Hearing [4] November 8, 2007
  12. War court back in business [5] Carol Rosenberg November 8, 2007[dead link]
  13. Khadr lawyers claim proof he's not 'enemy': Mystery witness was at firefight [6] Sheldon Alberts November 09, 2007
  14. Secret Khadr witness disclosed: Doubt cast on whether teen was 'unlawful' combatant, defence says [7] Paul Koring November 9, 2007
  15. Tent city sprouts quickly but justice moves slowly: Camp being erected for Khadr trial that some believe may never get underway [8] Michelle Shephard November 10, 2007
  16. Detainee’s lawyers complain of obstructions: Attorneys for Canadian held at Guantanamo say access to evidence blocked [9] November 9, 2007
  17. Broadcast of tape of Khadr allegedly building explosives 'outrageous': lawyer [10] Jered Stuffco November 19, 2007[dead link]
  18. Buried evidence revealed in Guantanamo trial [11] Jane Sutton January 4, 2008[dead link]
  19. Just Another Day in a Guantanamo Courtroom [12] Jennifer Daskal November 9, 2007
  20. Gitmo Trial Witness I.D.s Are Classified: Detainee's Lawyers Protest Judge's Order Not To Reveal Witness Identities To Anyone [13] December 2, 2007

External links[]

  • OMAR AHMED KHADR, v. UNITED STATES and UNITED STATES COURT OF MILITARY COMMISSION REVIEW [14] William Kuebler October 9, 2007
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