John Robert Holland is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

lawyer.

Legal career

Holland is notable for taking on

pro bono ( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

and

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

cases. Holland took on civil rights cases early in his career. His daughter and partner, Anna Cayton-Holland convinced him to return to human rights work, and their practice took on four

Guantanamo captive The Guantanamo Bay detention camp ( es, Centro de detención de la bahía de Guantánamo) is a United States military prison located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, also referred to as Guantánamo, GTMO, and Gitmo (), on the coast of Guant ...

Early career

While a law student at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Holland interned with the Zuni Legal Aid Society in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

. Upon graduation he received a

Reginald Heber Smith Community Lawyer Fellowship Reginald is a masculine given name in the English language. Etymology and history The meaning of Reginald is “King". The name is derived from the Latin ''Reginaldus'', which has been influenced by the Latin word ''regina'', meaning "queen". Th ...

, which allowed him to work for three years for the Denver Legal Aid Society. After his fellowship expired he continued to work for the Denver Legal Aid Society, until he entere
private practice
in 1979.

Private practice

One area Holland specialized in has been the legal issues around nursing homes. He has written and lectured on this topic.

Human rights cases

Holland has a long history of taking on human rights cases.

Guantanamo captives

Mohammed Al Amin On May 15, 2006 the United States Department of Defense acknowledged that there were three Mauritanian captives held in Guantanamo.Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

n youth, who was seventeen years old when he was captured, was released on September 26, 2007. Holland has visited the

Guantanamo Bay detention camp The Guantanamo Bay detention camp ( es, Centro de detención de la bahía de Guantánamo) is a United States military prison located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, also referred to as Guantánamo, GTMO, and Gitmo (), on the coast of Guant ...

s four times. Commenting on the difficulties of aiding Guantanamo captives Holland said:

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Guantanamo Bay attorneys American civil rights lawyers UCLA School of Law alumni {{US-law-bio-stub