William G. Eckhardt is a lawyer, a professor of law at the University of Missouri–Kansas City, and formerly a military officer, where his most notable case was the prosecution of Captain Ernest Medina, for the My Lai Massacre.My Lai lawyer reflects on ethics of war
''

Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and as ...

'', June 3, 2006 Professor Eckhardt received his B.A., with honors from the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

in 1963 where he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. Professor Eckhardt went on to receive his LL.B., also with honors, from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

in 1966. In addition, he earned an LL.M. Equivalent with honors from The Judge Advocate General’s School in 1970. He is a graduate of the United States Army War College, where he later served on the faculty and held the Dwight D. Eisenhower Chair of National Security. Professor Eckhardt completed 30 years of service and retired as Colonel in the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps. His significant positions included: Chief Prosecutor in the My Lai Cases (receiving the Federal Bar Association - Federal Younger Lawyer Award for his professional efforts), Personnel Affairs Branch Chief in the Army’s Litigation Division, General Counsel to units in California and Germany, the Army’s Chief Appellate Defender and Legal Advisor to Wartime Theater Commander. His varying teaching duties included being an adjunct professor at the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

. On June 3, 2006 Eckhardt conducted an interview with the

where he was asked whether he saw parallels between My Lai, and the alleged massacre at Haditha, and the treatment of the detainees in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camps.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eckhardt, William University of Missouri–Kansas City faculty Living people Year of birth missing (living people)