Nancy Hollander (born 1944)[1] is an American criminal defense lawyer best known for representing two Guantanamo Bay detainees, as well as Chelsea Manning.[2] She was portrayed by actress Jodie Foster in the 2021 film The Mauritanian, about the case of her client Mohamedou Ould Slahi.

Nancy Hollander
Hollander at the Committee to Protect Journalists in 2022
Born1944 (age 79–80)
EducationUniversity of Michigan (BA)
University of New Mexico (JD)
OccupationCriminal defense lawyer
Known forRepresenting Chelsea Manning, Mohamedou Ould Slahi, and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri
SpouseTodd Gitlin (divorced)

Early life and education

edit

Hollander was raised in Dallas, Texas.[3] She received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctor from the University of New Mexico School of Law.[4][5] As a student, Hollander was arrested three times while protesting as a member of Students for a Democratic Society.[6]

Career

edit

Hollander represented Slahi until 2016, when he was released from the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.[7][8] The film The Mauritanian is based on the story of Slahi's capture, torture, and detention, and Hollander's fight to win his release.[9][10]

Hollander also represents Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, the alleged mastermind of the USS Cole bombing, who was tortured at CIA black sites and has been at Guantanamo Bay since 2006. Hollander won two judgments for al-Nashiri from the European Court of Human Rights, resulting in damages to al-Nashiri.[11][12]

Hollander was lead counsel for Chelsea Manning's unsuccessful military appeal,[13] but filed a successful application for commutation of Manning's sentence in 2017.[14]

Hollander has been a partner at Freedman Boyd Hollander Goldberg Urias & Ward, P.A., in Albuquerque, New Mexico, since 1983.[15]

Personal life

edit

Hollander was married to Todd Gitlin, an activist and academic associated with the New Left movement. With him, she co-wrote Uptown: Poor Whites in Chicago.[16]

References

edit
  1. ^ Bergman, Barbara; Hollander, Nancy; Duncan, Theresa M. (1997). Wharton's criminal evidence. West. Retrieved July 29, 2021. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  2. ^ "Nancy Hollander".
  3. ^ Shrewsbury, Rachel (June 4, 2021). "Q&A with Nancy Hollander". www.bestlawyers.com. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  4. ^ "Top Lawyer Nancy Hollander, Military & Security Law". December 17, 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  5. ^ "UNM Alumnae Nancy Hollander and Teri Duncan featured in major motion picture 'The Mauritanian'". UNM Newsroom. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  6. ^ "Nancy Hollander - New Mexico Lawyers - The Agitator". Super Lawyers. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  7. ^ "The lawyer who fought to free Guantánamo's highest-value detainee – podcast". The Guardian. March 5, 2021. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  8. ^ Emanuella Grinberg (October 17, 2016). "'Guantanamo Diary' author freed". CNN. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  9. ^ "A 'Guantanamo Diary' From A Prisoner Still On The Inside". NPR.org. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  10. ^ "'The Mauritanian' Is Based On Guantanamo's 'Forever Prisoners'". NPR.org. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  11. ^ "Landmark rulings expose Romanian and Lithuanian complicity in CIA secret detention programme". www.amnesty.org. May 31, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  12. ^ "Al-Nashiri v. Poland". www.justiceinitiative.org. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  13. ^ Blake, Andrew (June 2, 2018). "Chelsea Manning loses appeal in WikiLeaks case". The Washington Times. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  14. ^ Savage, Charlie (January 17, 2017). "Chelsea Manning to Be Released Early as Obama Commutes Sentence". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  15. ^ "Greenhill Announces 2021 Distinguished Alumni". Park Cities People. People Newspapers. July 23, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  16. ^ Friedenberg, Edgar Z. (November 19, 1970). "Youth Wants to Know". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved September 18, 2021.