Possible New Assignment/

Hello again, it's Mo here. I hope everyone is doing fine. As for me, work is going well but a few family and personal issues the past few days were quite stressful. My younger sister was ill with a serious form of Malaria and was admitted at a local hospital for about a week. I got a call at work that she was ill and I left for the hospital to see her. It was quite scary and sad to see her in that condition. With prayers, good doctors and nurses and love, she was able to pull through. She was discharged from the hospital on Friday and is now doing better resting at home.

As for work, my supervisor (the Deputy Principal Defende) and I decided it will be a great idea to assign me to one of the teams representing indictees from the Revolutionary United Front (RUF; which was the main rebel faction during Sierra Leone's 11 year civil war). I'm very excited at this opportunity to work on another team. As you all know, until last week, I was working on Mr. Taylor's diclosure which is now complete. His lead counsel is currently out of the country and will return later this month. I'm not sure whether I will be assign to work with him again upon his return, but I hope so.

This week, I worked on two responses to appeals made by defense teams against both the Principal Defender (PD) and Deputy Principal Defender (DPD). It was the first time I got to work directly with the Principal Defender. He called me into his office, handed me the appeal by one of the defense teams, asked me to read it and draft a response for his review (I cannot specify more than that due to confidentiality rules). To complete the draft, I had to do some research, go over some contracts, and discuss the issues with him. I drafted a response for him on Thursday, he reviewed it and we discussed possible changes in format and substance. It was quite a flattering and humbling experience to be trusted with such a important appeal.

On Friday, the DPD called me into her office, handed me a request/application (by one of the defense teams) and other supporting documents and asked me to analyze it, do the relevant research and write an opinion memo on whether she should approve or deny the application/request. I did the relevant research, read the relevant documents and evaluated the arguments for and against granting the request. After my research and evaluation were complete, I wrote the memo.

The exchange of ideas on both a legal and administrative stand point was quite educational. We initially disagreed on whether she should grant or deny the request, but after additional discussions and some compromises, we both reached a decision we thougth was the best under the circumstances.

Also on Friday, I visited my Alma Mater, Prince of Wales Secondary School. Unfortunately, I was unaware that there was another activity planned for that day. I was able to take some pictures and talk to some students. I plan on visting again on Monday or Tuesday and I will share that experience with you all. I also got to play soccer on the beach with some of the guys around my neighborhood; i enjoyed it very much.

Once again, as always, thank you all for your continued love and support; I miss you all and I look forward to seeing you all upon my return to the US in August.

Sincerely
Mo

Hello All

Hello everyone; again, sorry it's taken so long since I last wrote. Work, problems with my internet access and other issues hindered my ability to update my blog as much as I will like to. I hope each and everyone of you are doing fine.

As I indicated in my last update, work has really been hectic lately (but i'm loving it). I am learning so much about the law and myself; more than I had expected to. It seem like every week, my responsibilities are increasing. I'm being challenged by my supervisors and colleagues. Just this past week, the Deputy Principal Defender called me into her office to discuss matter relating to the qualification of the lawyers representing some of the accused. As you may know, the office of the Principal Defender is synonymous to that of the Public Defender in the US. The office is responsible for ensuring that each accused gets a fair trial and that each attorney representing an accused is best qualified and presents that accused the best opportunity to defend himself. It was quite interesting and very education discussing those matters with her. We also discussed how to draft a memo relating to that issue.

On Wednesday, some students from the high school I attended while living in Sierra Leone visited the court. I participated in giving them a tour of the court and explaining the role each of its sections play. It was quite humbling and flattering to see how happy they wre to meet me. They asked me questions about myself, my stay in the US and my legal education. I was invited to visit the school this Friday to speak to the students about the importance of education, hardwork and their future plans. The education of children is of utmost importance to me, and I plan on using my time here (and my that in the US) to help as many children as possible to attend and stay in school.

Also this week, we finally finished the disclosure on Mr. Taylor's case on Monday. It was an experience unlike any other I have ever experienced. The work was hectic, tedious, exhausting, emotional, but also very educational. We were finally able to provide him all documents pertaining to the prosecutor's evidence against him. On Tuesday, after work, myself and other staffs from the Outreach section of the court attended a debate on the possible transfer of Mr. Taylot to the Hague at Fourah Bay College (three of my siblings attend school there). The students were quite passionate and knowledgeable about the issue. They were also quite intelligent and they made some very strong arguments in favor of and against the transfer of Mr. Taylor. The main argument in favor of his transfer is that of security and the main argument against his transfer is that of ensuring he gets a fair trial.

Also, a decision was reached in Mr. Taylor's motion challenging any possible change of venue. Three Judges ruled that the decision of whether to transfer Mr. Taylor to the Hagues is purely administrative and not legal; and since such decision has not yet been made by the President of the Court, his motion is premature. I believe that given the statute of the court (signed by both the UN and the govt. of Sierra Leone), it was the right decision. The statute's change of venue provision is administrative in nature, but does provide an avenue of appeal after such a decision.

Also, I met some interns this week and we all agreed to go out and get to know one another. The makeup of the court is quite international. I have met people from every continent and from over 20 countries. I met with an intern from the US (Crissy, who attends Brown University), Canada (Andrea who attends law school in London, Canada), Divya who is from India, but received her LLM from Columbia University, Charles from Pace University Law school in the US, Selwyn from Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leone, Prudence from Uganda, Shautel from the UK, Liza from Australia, Michael from Austria and so on. It is really quite an experience meeting people from such diverse background and sharing and learning each other's cultures. It was quite educational. We all went to dinner on Friday, had nice conversations and then dancing at a club.

I drove us all (7 of us) in my uncle's 1983 BMW 3 series (stick shift which i'm not used to driving). It was quite an experience. We had a great time; and we plan on hanging out once in a while as a way to get away from the realities we face at work.

Today, Sunday, I went to Church with some of my family members, spent time with my grandma and the rest of my family and spent some time on the beach. My upcoming week will be filled with things to do. I'm suppose to be starting a new project this week. I'm sure it will be interesting. As you all know, I have a lot of work to do; but I do apologize for not updating my blog more frequently. I promise to do my best to better update my blog in the future.

I thank you all for your continued interest and I hope to hear from you all soon.

PICS: The first two pics are of me and some colleagues from work, the third is of me and students from my alma mater (Prince of Wales Secondary School) in front of the court building, the fourth is of children in my neighborhood and the last is of myself and some members of the congregation at the church I went to today. Thank you all and I hope to hear from you all soon.

Mo