J. Connell believes providing a fair trial to even the people charged with masterminding the 9/11 terrorist attacks emphasizes that the United States is a nation of laws, not retribution.

“It’s a tribute to American values that we understand that how we treat even those we view as our enemies is the true test of American freedoms,” said Connell, who is one of the attorneys assigned to defend the five prisoners being held in Guantanamo Bay. “We are either a nation where the government can do what it wants or we are a nation of laws.”

Earlier this month, James Connell was quoted in an Associated Press article detailing how the trials for the five Guantanamo prisoners will likely occur years from now. Upon the article’s publication, several Valdosta Daily Times readers called the newspaper’s offices to note that the Washington, D.C.-based attorney grew up in Valdosta.

Known to friends and family as J., Connell is the son of Julia Ariail and step-son of Julius Ariail of Lowndes County. His father, Jim Connell, spent several years in Valdosta but now lives near J. in the Washington, D.C., area.

Born in Rhode Island, where his father worked at the War College, Connell’s earliest memories formed in Valdosta. Jim Connell accepted a teaching position at Valdosta State, and the Connells moved to South Georgia before young J. reached his first year. His younger sister is Ashley Connell Meade. The family attended Christ Episcopal Church.

J. Connell attended S.L. Mason Elementary School, West Gordon, Valdosta Junior High, and Valdosta High School.

There, young Connell joined the debate team led by VHS teacher Frank Hjort. In debate, Connell realized he “liked the clash of ideas and the courtroom drama.” Though he never had Hjort as a classroom teacher, Connell selected him as his academic inspiration upon being named Star student his senior year. Connell credits Hjort’s debate team with leading him to become an attorney.

In 1989, Connell graduated Valdosta High. He enrolled in Florida State University. He attended law school at the prestigious William & Mary in Virginia. In 2000, Connell opened his law practice in Fairfax, Va.

As a defense attorney, Connell became a vigorous trial lawyer. During this time, he worked death-penalty cases.

Of the clients whom he represented in the initial trial, Connell says he was able to save them from the death penalty; however, he was unable to stop the executions of three clients whom he acquired after they had been sentenced to the death penalty. He describes his clients’ executions as “the three worst days of my life.”

Still, even though he opposes the death penalty, Connell says, “I’m not trying to convince people that the death penalty is unnecessary but convince people that it was unnecessary” in his particular cases.

In 2008, his death-penalty work attracted the U.S. Department of Defense. As part of the military commissions related to 9/11, the DOD wanted civilian attorneys to work pro bono, donating time to represent the defendants coming before the military commissions.

In 2009, when the presidency moved from George W. Bush to Barack Obama, the military commissions stalled. Connell returned full-time to his practice.

In 2011, when the Obama administration revived the military commissions, the DOD approached Connell. Knowing the time and commitment necessary from his past experiences, he turned down the offer, saying he could not fit the pro bono work into his practice. The DOD offered to hire him for the duration of the 9/11 cases. Connell accepted the offer. He resigned from his law firm and went to work full-time for the Pentagon.

Connell is part of a series of defense teams working to defend five Guantanamo (Gitmo) prisoners linked to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the hijacked plane that crashed in a Pennsylvania field.

The most infamous of these defendants is Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, who has reportedly described himself as the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. Connell does not represent him. He is lead counsel, along with an Air Force lieutenant colonel co-counsel and a defense team, for Ali Abdul Aziz Ali.

Other than saying whom he represents, Connell cannot speak about his client. Ali is accused of transferring money to the 9/11 hijackers, according to media accounts. He reportedly “helped them with plane tickets, traveler’s checks, and hotel reservations,” and “taught them about everyday aspects of life in the West, such as purchasing clothes and ordering food,” according to the 9/11 Commission report.

As Connell told AP earlier this month, he reiterates to The Times: These trials are years away. Connell will regularly work the case in his office. He regularly travels to Gitmo and other locales. In June, hearings have been scheduled to hear preliminary evidence, but these sessions will be the first on “a long road of hearings …,” Connell says.

Given the time and the work as well as the defendants, the devastation and unforgettable images of Sept. 11, 2001, some may wonder why an attorney would accept what will likely be a thankless job?

Partly, he accepted the job because he recognizes that the DOD needed attorneys with specific skill sets: a person with extensive death penalty experience, since this will be a capital case; a person who can pass extensive top-secret clearance and background checks; a person who can either fit “such a gigantic case” into their law practice or is willing to walk away from private practice for several years.

Connell fit all of these descriptions.

As for defending people accused of being or abetting terrorists, Connell says defense attorneys are accustomed to the concept that both sides must receive legal representation, despite how the public may perceive such representation.

Connell also believes that a defense attorney can vigorously represent his client without causing additional harm to the victims and their families. He learned this working death penalty cases.

“I have a real feeling for victims even though I am working for the defense,” Connell says. “There may not be much I can do for the victims but I can do some things not to make their lives worse.”

If victims call him, Connell does not avoid them. He talks to them. He tells them what he can. He recalls one death-penalty case where he was able to arrange a requested meeting between the victim’s family and one of his clients in the hours prior to execution. He believes he can bring a similar sensitivity to the concerns of the 9/11 victims in this case.

Connell also believes that this case has a place in history as well as confirming America’s role in the world.

“It’s more important that this case is done right than any case in recent history,” Connell says.

The case may also be the only thorough examination of what Connell describes as the “torture years,” when terrorism suspects were waterboarded, etc.

Connell sees his job as not only defending his client but confirming America’s rule of law.

As for Valdosta, even with the hard work involved in this case, Connell, his wife of 14 years, their 9-year-old adopted son, and hopefully soon a newly adopted daughter, regularly visit family and friends in Valdosta, often to celebrate something as all-American as the Fourth of July.

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