IRAQI LAWYER LEARNING IN MINNEAPOLIS USA

RULE OF LAW PRACTICAL TRAINING FOR AN IRAQI

From 5EYEWITNESS NEWS, TWIN CITIES, USA

Updated: 03/20/2009 8:37 PM KSTP.com | Print Story

By: Mark Albert, Reporter

Iraqi lawyer goes to court in Minn.

Six years to the day after his family watched a barrage of American bombs fall near his home in Baghdad, Saad Al Shamary is a world away in Minneapolis. The Iraqi lawyer is learning how the U.S. judicial system works so he can incorporate those lessons into reforms for Iraq's courts. "I'm learning a lot," Al Shamary, 41, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS Friday. He left his wife and three children behind to spend 10 months in the Twin Cities. While here, he's serving as a judicial extern in the chambers of Hennepin County District Court Judge Lloyd Zimmerman. "Having Saad in the building is just an affirming and uplifting thing for me personally and for all the lawyers I come into contact with," said Judge Zimmerman. Al Shamary sits next to the judge on the bench during court proceedings; cases covering everything from murder trials to legal settlements and name changes. "I've had a huge privilege of sitting with somebody who's taught me and who will bring back a huge lesson for his come country from something he's see, first-hand, in a flesh and blood way - a real-life story and the daily living drama and theater of court. So how better can you learn?" Zimmerman explained while standing in his 14th floor courtroom. The differences in the two justice systems are stark. In Iraq, there are no juries. The judge is the ultimate arbiter of guilt or innocence; there are no fights between prosecutors and defense to find out the truth. The power rests not in the people, but in the judges, Al Shamary says. "It's the same legal system since 1970 until now. We have the same. Nothing change with the system. So you can imagine - the judge, he protect the act of the government," Al Shamary said. Al Shamary says he has worked as a senior investigator since 2004 (the equivalent of a prosecutor) for the Iraqi High Tribunal, a court established to put top members of the regime of deposed dictator Saddam Hussein on trial in the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion on March 19, 2003. Al Shamary says he has taken confessions from some key Hussein lieutenants. He decided to take part in the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Fellowship Program, sponsored by the U.S. State Department, not only to improve his country but to foster greater understanding with Americans. "After invasion, we should open a new page for communication between cultures and I believe, in my opinion, this is the right way," he said. In Minnesota, his deepest impression so far came a few days ago. Judge Zimmerman had just concluded a hearing approving a six-figure settlement between the city of Minneapolis and the Khang family. A Minneapolis SWAT team mistakenly raided their North Minneapolis home in December 2007 based on wrong information from an informant. Police exchanged gunfire with the family and incredibly, nobody was hurt. In court, Zimmerman addressed each member of the Hmong family individually, by name, and then apologized on behalf of the entire judicial system for the mistake. An Iraqi judge, Al Shamary declares, would not have done the same for fear of losing face and respect. "People, they don't trust with the judges or the legal system (in Iraq) in general," says Al Shamary. One of Al Shamary's trial court professors at the U of M, Judge Kevin Burke, believes the Iraqi lawyer's training in the Twin Cities should matter to every Minnesotan. "I hope that people would see this as an investment in the legacy that we'll leave to the people of Iraq," Judge Burke said.