THE RULE OF LAW ORAL HISTORY PROJECT
Ricardo M. Urbina
Senior Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Retired
An interview with Ricardo M. Urbina conducted on January 31 and February 1, 2013 by Myron A. Farber for the Columbia Center for Oral History, Rule of Law Oral History Project.
Ricardo M. Urbina was a judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia between 1994 and 2011, and a senior judge between 2011 and 2012, who presided over multiple habeas corpus petitions filed on behalf of Guantánamo Bay detainees. Judge Urbina retired from the court on May 31, 2012. Highlights of this interview include Judge Urbina’s views on the impact of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the responsibilities of federal judges, as well as discussions of habeas corpus petitions brought by Uighur detainees, Supreme Court habeas corpus rulings, pro bono lawyers representing Guantánamo Bay detainees, and the differences between the Obama and Bush administrations proceedings in relation to Guantánamo Bay.
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