Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gaine ...
) is an American attorney, professor, and author. He is a law professor at
Seton Hall University School of Law
Seton Hall University School of Law is the law school of Seton Hall University, and is located in downtown Newark, New Jersey. Seton Hall Law is the only private law school in New Jersey, and, according to the ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranking ...
in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Center for Policy and Research The Center for Policy and Research at Seton Hall University School of Law is a research organization that analyzes national policies and practices. Law students, participating in the Center as Research Fellows, work to identify factual patterns and ...
.
He is best known for his reports on the Guantanamo Bay detention camp and its operations. Denbeaux has testified to Congress about the findings of the Center's reports. He and his son, Joshua Denbeaux, are the legal representatives of two Tunisian detainees at Guantanamo. He is also the lead Civilian Military Commission Counsel for two detainees who were tortured by the
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
in
black site
In military terminology, a black site is a location at which an unacknowledged black operation or black project is conducted. According to the Associated Press, "Black sites are clandestine jails where prisoners generally are not charged with ...
s prior to their detainment. Denbeaux is an expert in forensics and has testified as an expert witness in cases across the country.
Denbeaux also is a practicing attorney in the family law firm of Denbeaux & Denbeaux in
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gaine ...
. He attended local schools before going to the Commonwealth School.
Denbeaux received his B.A. from
College of Wooster
The College of Wooster is a private liberal arts college in Wooster, Ohio. Founded in 1866 by the Presbyterian Church as the University of Wooster, it has been officially non-sectarian since 1969 when ownership ties with the Presbyterian Church ...
in 1965. An active supporter of civil rights in the 1960s, Denbeaux participated in the
March on Washington
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, also known as simply the March on Washington or The Great March on Washington, was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic righ ...
on August 28, 1963. Denbeaux later founded a
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...
chapter in Wooster. The Wooster NAACP eventually became the Wooster Orville NAACP because it was too large to be run by students. He was later honored and asked to speak at the 50th anniversary Freedom Dinner in 2015. He participated in the
Selma to Montgomery marches
The Selma to Montgomery marches were three protest marches, held in 1965, along the 54-mile (87 km) highway from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery. The marches were organized by nonviolent activists to demonstrate the ...
The Star-Ledger
''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to ''The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of wh ...
'', March 4, 2015. Accessed November 23, 2017. "The historic photo is a little grainy, produced in black-and-white. That was not by choice, as some artistic metaphor; color photography in 1965 was expensive to print. The picture was part of Ebony magazine's coverage of the third Alabama voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, which began on March 21, 1965.... 'My father was a combat chaplain with (Gen. George) Patton's 3rd Army,' Denbeaux said during an interview at his home in Woodcliff Lake."
He attended
New York University School of Law
New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New ...
, where he received his J.D. in 1968.
Career
Early career
After graduating from NYU Law School in 1968, Denbeaux became a founding member of the South Bronx Legal Services. He served as the citywide coordinator for the Community Action for Legal Services, New York's organization of antipoverty lawyers, from 1970 to 1972. During this time he also filed complaints against judges for hostility towards poor people.
During the 1970s and early 1980s, Denbeaux represented
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Califo ...
in
The Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
and Manhattan with Jeffrey Brand, now the Dean of the
University of San Francisco School of Law
The University of San Francisco School of Law (USF Law) is the law school of the private University of San Francisco. Established in 1912, it received American Bar Association accreditation in 1935 and joined the Association of American Law Sc ...
. He represented the
Young Lords
The Young Lords, also known as the Young Lords Organization (YLO) or Young Lords Party (YLP), was a Chicago-based street gang that became a civil and human rights organization. The group aims to fight for neighborhood empowerment and self-det ...
in the Bronx during their takeover of Lincoln Hospital.
In the early 1970s, Denbeaux represented a number of U.S. soldiers charged with disobeying orders during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
and the
anti-war
An anti-war movement (also ''antiwar'') is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term anti-war can also refer to pa ...
movement. He defended some in courts martial.
Seton Hall University School of Law
In 1972, Denbeaux joined the Seton Hall Law School Faculty. He has taught courses including Evidence, Remedies, Uniform Commercial Code, Contracts, Professional Responsibility, Federal Civil Procedure, Torts, and Constitutional Law. He has been an elected member of the
American Law Institute
The American Law Institute (ALI) is a research and advocacy group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of United States common law and its adaptation to changing social needs. ...
since 1980.
In 2006, Denbeaux founded the
Center for Policy and Research The Center for Policy and Research at Seton Hall University School of Law is a research organization that analyzes national policies and practices. Law students, participating in the Center as Research Fellows, work to identify factual patterns and ...
at Seton Hall University Law School. This work was originally inspired by Denbeaux's ''
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 ...
'' representation of two Guantanamo detainees. He and his son are among more than 100 attorneys who have represented detainees there.
The Center produces analytic reports in three key areas: interrogations and intelligence, national security, and forensics. Under Denbeaux's supervision, students working as research fellows in teams develop skills in pattern recognition, factual evaluation, and data analysis; Seton Hall University has published their original reports on issues concerning law and public policy.
Denbeaux is well known for the Center's Guantanamo Reports, studies of United States operations and policies at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp; by late 2009, fifteen studies had been published in this series.
The law research fellows have systematically analyzed data published by the Department of Defense; they have reviewed more than 100,000 pages of government documents procured through the
Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request:
* Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Australian act
* ...
. The first report was a statistical analysis of characteristics of the 517 detainees held in 2005. The Guantanamo Reports have been widely cited and published globally.
Guantanamo Bay
In 2005, Denbeaux began representing two Tunisian detainees, Rafiq Bin Bashir Bin Jalud Al Hami and Lufti Bin Ali. In 2009, al Hami was released to Slovakia. In 2011, bin Ali was released to Kazakhstan. In 2009, he began his pro bono representation of two more detainees,
Abu Zubaydah
Abu Zubaydah ( ; , ''Abū Zubaydah''; born March 12, 1971, as Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn) is a Saudi Arabian currently held by the U.S. in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba. He is held under the authority of Authorization for Use ...
and Mohamad Farik Amin. Denbeaux represented them in their habeas corpus petitions and remains the lead civilian defense counsel for both detainees.
He has testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee, as well as a variety of House and Senate subcommittees, regarding Guantanamo Bay and national security issues.
Forensics
Denbeaux is an expert in forensic testimony. He teaches an upper-level seminar at Seton Hall Law on forensic evidence. The course evaluates the reliability of experts who testify as to handwriting identification, fingerprint identification, ballistics, tool marks, blood spatter, bite marks, and other crime scene forensic evidence and witnesses. The analysis of these areas includes an evaluation of the reliability and validity of each area's conclusions, the value of each area's proficiency testing, and the methodology upon which the conclusions are reached.
In order to fully evaluate forensic evidence, the Center has established a crime laboratory, certified by the requisite proficiency tests. Its representatives have given expert opinions about the methodology used by specific forensic fields in court. Its written reports have been used in court proceedings. A significant part of the seminar includes participating in these projects.
Denbeaux has spoken on the subject of forensic science at dozens of academic gatherings and has testified as an expert witness on the limitations of forensic evidence more than fifty times in state and federal courts as well as in administrative proceedings. His testimony has been cited in published cases in addition to the Third and Eleventh Circuits (''U.S. v. Yagman'' and ''U.S. v. Pettus'').
;''U.S. v. Yagman''
Denbeaux offered testimony questioning the reliability of handwriting analysis in this 2007 trial. His testimony was limited to his observations about the limitations and/or flaws in handwriting analysis generally, not as specifically applicable to the facts in ''Yagman''.
;U.S. v. Hines
Denbeaux served as an expert witness in ''U.S. v. Hines'', in which the government's motion to exclude Denbeaux's testimony was deemed moot. The government argued that Denbeaux's testimony did not meet the standards of ''Daubert'' and ''Kumho'', while Denbeaux concluded that there is no need for expert testimony on handwriting analysis as it has never been proven reliable.
;U.S. v. Ruth
In ''U.S. v. Ruth'', the issue in question was whether the military judge abused his discretion by denying production of Denbeaux, who was slated to testify as an expert critic of handwriting analysis.
Mayflower Madam
Sydney Biddle Barrows (born January 14, 1952) is an American businesswoman and socialite who became known as an escort agency owner under the name Sheila Devin; she later became known as "The Mayflower Madam". She has since become a management co ...
," in 1984. Barrows ran Cachet, an escort service in New York City, from 1979 until 1984, when the service was shut down. She was charged with promoting
prostitution
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. She eventually pleaded guilty.
In 1997, Denbeaux served as a forensic expert for the trial of
Timothy McVeigh
Timothy James McVeigh (April 23, 1968 – June 11, 2001) was an American domestic terrorist responsible for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people, 19 of whom were children, injured more than 680 others, and destroyed one-third o ...
, charged with bombing the Oklahoma Federal Building.
Private practice
Denbeaux serves as Attorney of Counsel for the family law firm Denbeaux and Denbeaux.
Personal life
The son of a combat chaplain who served with the
Third United States Army
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (disambiguation)
* Third Avenue (disambiguation)
* Hig ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Denbeaux has been a resident of
Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey
Woodcliff Lake is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the borough's population was 5,730,Jonathan Hafetz, 2010Richard Bernstein, Letter from America: "Guantánamo Lawyers Showed Their Moral Fiber" ''New York Times'', 8 October 2010, accessed 10 February 2013
Center for Policy and Research, Guantanamo Reports
''Global War on Terror Timeline: September 11, 2001 to January 20, 2009'' January 5, 2017 (with Brian Beroth, Adam Deutsch, Nicholas Stratton, and Phillip Taylor). ''Racial Profiling report: Bloomfield Police and Bloomfield Municipal Court'' April 7, 2016 (with Kelley Kearns and Michael J. Ricciardelli).
*''The Government's Hostage: The Conviction and Execution of Ethel Rosenberg'', December 15, 2016 (with Shannon Dolan, Robert Graber, Elizabeth Mancuso, and Theodore Tanzer).
* ''Costs and Consequences of Arming America's Law Enforcement with Combat Equipment'', September 7, 2014 (with Jeremy Dack, Dakota Gallivan, Lucas Morgan, Jared Stepp, and Joshua Wirtshafter).
*''Lehman Brothers: A License to Fail with Other People's Money'', September 7, 2012 (with Edward Dabek, John Gregorek, Sean A. Kennedy, and Eric Miller).
Articles
*"Trust, Cynicism, and Machiavellianism Among First Year Law Students, 53 ''Journal of Urban Law'' 397" (1976).
*"Restitution and Mass Actions: A Solution to the Problems of Class Actions," 10 ''Seton Hall L. Rev.'' 273 (1979).
*"Questioning Questions: Problems of Form in the Interrogation of Witness," 33 ''Arkansas L. Rev. 439'' (1980) (with Risinger).
*"The First Word of the First Amendment," ''Northwestern University L. Rev.'' (1988).
*"Exorcism of Ignorance as a Proxy for Rational Knowledge: The Lessons of Handwriting Identification 'Expertise'," ''U. of Pa. L. Rev.'' (1989) (with Risinger & Saks).
*"Brave New 'Post- Daubert World'--A Reply to Professor Moenssens," 29 ''Seton Hall L. Rev.'' 405 (1998) (with Risinger and Saks).
Book review
*"Resignation in Protest: Political and Ethical Choices Between Loyalty to Team and Loyalty to Conscience in American Public Life," 4 ''Hofstra L. Rev.'' (1976).
Sponsored research
*American Bar Foundation, 1974-78. Recipient of a grant, with Professor Alan Katz of Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut, to conduct a longitudinal study on law student attitudes toward politics, law and legal education
*"Alteration or Elaboration: Does Law School Instill Cynicism?," (with Alan Katz), National Conferences on Teaching Professional Responsibility, Detroit, Michigan, Sept. 1977