Exasperated military judge halts USS Cole bombing case
Vance Spath
The decision by Air Force Col. Vance Spath  who voiced exasperation at what he characterized as repeated defiance of his authority by defense attorneys  is a striking illustration of the deep-rooted problems plaguing the judicial process set up in the wake of the Sept. 11  2001  attacks.
That crisis was compounded when  Spath  held Brig. Gen. John G. Baker  the chief defense counsel for the commissions  in contempt and ordered him confined to quarters when he supported the lawyers’ departure.
 Spath ’s frustration mounted when two of Nashiri’s former lawyers  Rosa Eliades and Mary Spears  did not obey his orders to appear in court via video and as Piette  a relatively junior attorney  argued that he could not proceed without a co-counsel experienced in capital cases.
According to Michel Paradis  Nashiri’s Pentagon-appointed appellate lawyer  Nashiri’s case was abated previously in 2015 while the Court of Military Commission Review reviewed several measures. He said  Spath ’s decision was different.
“He’s basically saying this case has become a dumpster fire ” he said. “The good news I think is that  Colonel Spath  finally came around and realized this dumpster fire could not keep going.”
Spath  closing court proceedings  told the court that  he  would decide in coming weeks whether to retire.
“We’re out ”  he  then said.
The decision by Air Force Col. [TGT]  who voiced exasperation at what he characterized as repeated defiance of his authority by defense attorneys  is a striking illustration of the deep-rooted problems plaguing the judicial process set up in the wake of the Sept. 11  2001  attacks.
That crisis was compounded when  Spath  held Brig. Gen. John G. Baker  the chief defense counsel for the commissions  in contempt and ordered him confined to quarters when he supported the lawyers’ departure.
 Spath ’s frustration mounted when two of Nashiri’s former lawyers  Rosa Eliades and Mary Spears  did not obey his orders to appear in court via video and as Piette  a relatively junior attorney  argued that he could not proceed without a co-counsel experienced in capital cases.
According to Michel Paradis  Nashiri’s Pentagon-appointed appellate lawyer  Nashiri’s case was abated previously in 2015 while the Court of Military Commission Review reviewed several measures. He said  Spath ’s decision was different.
“He’s basically saying this case has become a dumpster fire ” he said. “The good news I think is that  Colonel Spath  finally came around and realized this dumpster fire could not keep going.”
Spath  closing court proceedings  told the court that  he  would decide in coming weeks whether to retire.
“We’re out ”  he  then said.