Utrecht Graduate Donna Cline talks about her Career in human rights and criminal justice.
Donna Cline, criminal defence lawyer for detainees at Guantanamo Bay, spoke with Julie Fraser, Assistant Professor of International and European Law at Utrecht 木瓜福利影视, about her career since graduating from Utrecht 木瓜福利影视.
Donna, thanks for your time! We studied together at Utrecht 木瓜福利影视 over a decade ago now, doing the LLM specialising in international human rights and criminal justice. What did you study before coming to UU and why did you choose Utrecht?
Before UU, I attended Western Carolina 木瓜福利影视 in the USA and earned bachelor's degrees in Music and Business Administration and Law. I went on to earn my Juris Doctor at Charleston School of Law. During law school, news related to the United States' actions in the War on Terror inspired me to spend a summer studying human rights and international criminal law in Amsterdam. That summer was amazing - I not only fell in love with the subject matter, but also with Holland! I decided that after law school, I wanted to pursue an LL.M. in The Netherlands and work at one of the international criminal tribunals in The Hague. Utrecht's LL.M. in International Human Rights and Criminal Justice was the perfect fit; its proximity to The Hague gave me the opportunity to work for a defense team at the ICTY as part of my degree program, and the privilege of living in a beautiful city while forging strong connections with like-minded international students.
After graduating from Utrecht 木瓜福利影视, I know that you stayed longer in the Netherlands before returning to the USA. What was your career path after UU?
While finishing my master's degree at UU, I started an internship in the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court where I was able to work on the prosecution's appeal of the Court's first judgment (the Lubanga case). Working in that office allowed me to witness some of the decision-making behind which atrocities to prosecute - or not - and why. After completing my internship, I returned to the United States, where I spent a few years doing human rights advocacy for EG Justice, an NGO devoted to human rights and the rule of law in Equatorial Guinea, as well as a bit of international criminal law consulting. I also did some asylum-based fieldwork in Texas and in Greece, assisting individuals who made the arduous journey to a new country in an attempt to secure a better life for themselves or their family. Human rights/international criminal law is a tough field to break into, so all this work was intended to get the skills needed for a "dream job" in human rights or international criminal law. I realized one thing I lacked was trial skills, so in 2016 I moved to Florida and worked as a public defender for several years before returning to Washington, DC for my current job as a Trial Attorney with the Military Commissions Defense Organization.
Yes, your current job sounds fascinating! Well done on this position Donna. Can you tell me a bit more about it?
It is incredibly frustrating, but not only in the obvious ways that come with legal defense work (having to argue with the prosecutors, persuade the judge, remind the public that your client is human, etc.). If I have a question I need to ask my client, I can't simply call him or drive to jail; I have to travel to Guantanamo Bay to visit him in-person (and, this isn't as easy as booking a flight on Expedia whenever I like). The US government has put a lot of institutional barriers in place that make it harder to do my job as a lawyer. There are a lot of protocols to follow, but they sometimes change without notice. It is consistently inconsistent! And, it can be emotionally taxing. In addition to the stress inherent to working on a capital case, we are exposed to vicarious trauma from representing a torture victim. But, it is important and necessary work - my client has been held for over 20 years now without being tried. All the work we do is focused on holding the government to basic fair trial standards (such as turning over discovery my client is entitled to or keeping out evidence obtained through torture) and ensuring my client's basic rights are upheld.
After all this experience, what advice do you have, Donna, for students who want to pursue a career in human rights and criminal justice?
Don't close yourself off to opportunities out of fear. When I moved to Florida, I was scared I would get "stuck" there. It wasn't my dream job in international criminal law (or even remotely related to ICL), nor was it in an ideal location. But, it gave me the skills I needed to get exactly where I was trying to go. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. One other piece of advice that I hear over and over again is not to get caught up in whether your career path is linear or going in the right direction. You never know when skills from a particular job are going to be useful down the road. The key is to highlight the common thread that weaves throughout your career path.