Criminal Defense

Yatvin Key Member of Defense Team at the ICC

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A decade ago Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo (Bemba) was charged by the Office of the Prosecutor (Prosecutor) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) with crimes committed in the Central African Republic (CAR) in 2002-2003 (murder and rape as crimes against humanity, murder and rape as war crimes, and pillaging as a war crime). Mr. Bemba was President of the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC), a political party founded by him and based in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Commander-in-Chief of its military branch. The events giving rise to the charges took place on the territory of the CAR, during an MLC intervention to support Ange-Félix Patassé, the then President of the CAR, in suppressing a rebellion. Bemba was convicted on March 21, 2016.

Mr. Aimé Kilolo Musamba

Bemba was represented in this Main Case at the ICC by Aimé Kilolo Musamba (Kilolo), a lawyer from DRC, who is also a French speaking member of the Brussels Bar.

In November of 2013, Mr. Kilolo and three other members of the Bemba defense team were arrested. Bemba was already in custody on the main case. Mr. Kilolo remained in custody in The Hague, seat of the ICC, for the next 11 months. Kilolo and the others were charged a few weeks later with offences against the administration of justice. Essentially, this case was about witness and evidence tampering.

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Yatvin essay published in The Champion magazine

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The May issue of The Champion, magazine of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) contains an essay by Popper & Yatvin partner, Alan L. Yatvin.

Informal Opinion: Representing ‘Those People’ Achieves Justice

By Alan L. Yatvin

“How can you represent those people?” In three decades as a criminal defense attorney, I had heard that question many times — at cocktail parties and from prosecutors, police, victims, law students, and once even from a judge. It comes with the territory. I understand that people accused of crimes are often automatically condemned, while their lawyers are regarded with contempt. However, as I walked along that steamy January afternoon, I was shocked by the source of the question. This time it was my wife, Laura, prompted by a just completed hour-long audio tour of a former fruit orchard on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

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Yatvin on ethics panel in The Hague

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Program attendees included ADC-ICTY members, interns and staff, as well as defence team members from the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), staff of the ICTY/ICTR/MICT Registry, Prosecution and Chambers, and students from various universities around The Hague. At the ADC’s General Assembly on November 9th, Alan was elected to … Read more

50th Anniversary of Gideon

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This month we commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the decision in Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963), which changed the face of criminal prosecution by declaring a broad right to counsel for poor criminal defendants.  Go to this page of our blog to learn more about the history of the decision.

Thurgood Marshall Award Presentation

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Here are a few pictures from the December 4, 2012 reception of the Criminal Justice Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association, where Alan Yatvin was presented the 2012 Thurgood Marshall Criminal Justice Award.  Read more at the Section’s blog.

After Thurgood Marshall Award recipient Alan Yatvin was introduced by David Rudovsky (c), Section Chair Kevin Mincey (l) made the presentation.

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