James L. Pohl

Colonel James L. Pohl is an American lawyer and an officer in the United States Army.

He is notable for having been appointed the President of a Guantanamo military commission. He is Presiding over the Commission of Ahmed Darbi and Abd el-Rahim al-Nashiri. He is notable for serving as the judge of several of the GIs in the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse cases, and barring the demolition of Abu Ghraib because he had ruled it a crime scene.

On 6 January 2009 Pohl was appointed to replace Ralph Kohlmann as the Chief Presiding Officer for the Military Commissions.

Pohl received his J.D. from Pepperdine University in 1978.

Suspension of Guantanamo Hearings
On January 29, 2009, Pohl denied the request of the Obama Administration to delay proceeding for 120 days in the case of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. Pohl argued that tribunal rules give the judges sole authority to delay cases and that postponing proceedings against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri was not reasonable and "does not serve the interest of justice". According to Carol Rosenberg, writing in the Miami Herald, Pohl's ruling stated:
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 * "The Commission is bound by the law as it currently exists not as it may change in the future."
 * "The public interest in a speedy trial will be harmed by the delay in the arraignment."
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According to Guantanamo spokesman Commander Jeffrey Gordon: ''"The Department of Defense is currently reviewing Judge Pohl's ruling. We will be in compliance with the president's orders regarding Guantánamo." According to Fox News, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said that Pohl will be directed to comply with Obama's executive order.

The arraignment could have been canceled, even if Pohl had continued to assert his duty lay in ignoring Obama's order, if either Susan J. Crawford the Convening Authority for the Office of Military Commissions, or Al Nashiri's prosecution, withdrew the charges.

Assigned to investigate the Fort Hood shootings
Pohl was assigned to serve as the investigating officer for the article 32 hearing for Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the suspect in the Fort Hood shootings.

Assigned to investigate Brigadier General Sinclair
Pohl was assigned to Preside over the court martial of Brigadier General Jeffrey A. Sinclair, a former deputy commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, charged with sodomy.