As , Pfc. Bradley E. Manning, ’s lead trial attorney, , RWU Law Professor David E. Coombs, kept telling his client: Trust the system, trust the system. That rationale seemed sound. During the 2013 trial, Coombs planned to have Manning accept responsibility for disclosing hundreds of thousands of classified military and diplomatic files and reports to WikiLeaks. He planned to emphasize that the former Army intelligence analyst never intended to harm the country or to aid the enemy. He…, A court sketch showing Professor David Coombs (far left) and his client Pfc. Bradley Manning (seated beside him) during Manning's court martial., In addition, the defendant, who had entered prison known as Bradley Manning, emerged as a transgender woman named Chelsea Manning. And Coombs, who grew up hoping to become a lawyer in Idaho, ended up at the center of an all-consuming, highly publicized case, involving the biggest breach of secret data in U.S. history, and then helping Manning secure medical care for gender dysphoria. Today,…, Chief Justice Weisberger Visiting Professor of Law at the Roger Williams University School of Law, . And as he sat in his office, retracing his path from Boise to Bristol, he was asked if he ever regrets taking on a sprawling, emotionally draining case that spanned more than two years, encompassed more than 532,000 pages of discovery and concluded with an eight-week trial. “I don’t,” Coombs said, “because I think it represented something larger than Manning. I think the case represented such a…, 'I Need to Do This', Coombs during his active duty days in the Army. Coombs, 47, was born in Boise, raised in nearby Nampa, Idaho, and went to the University of Idaho for undergraduate studies and law school. He looked forward to becoming an attorney in his home state. But then he took part in a law school clinic, doing legal work for the Nez Perce Indian tribe, and his supervising attorney, a former judge advocate,…, Representing Bradley Manning, Coombs said the case “fell in my lap” because Manning wanted a civilian lawyer, “without concern for making any enemies within the military,” but also someone with a military background. On the news, Coombs had seen the video showing a U.S. Apache helicopter killing two Reuters news staff, and remembers thinking that whoever leaked it would be “in a world of hurt.” The phone rang, and he heard a…, Obama's Commutation, President Obama on Jan. 18, 2017, announcing his pardon of Manning. Those tears of rage were replaced by tears of joy earlier this year when President Barack Obama delivered another shocking decision – commuting all but four months of Manning’s remaining sentence. “Again, I was just overcome by such an unexpected event,” Coombs said. “I did not expect 35 years, and I certainly didn’t expect a…, The Road Ahead, Professor David Coombs during a Today Show interview. The day after the sentencing, Coombs appeared on the “Today” show, announcing that Manning was female and would seek cross-sex hormone therapy. He helped her change her name and seek transgender care. And he contacted Chase Strangio, staff attorney for the LGBT & AIDS Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. Eventually, Manning…
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