Talk to Focus on Crime at the International Level

CORTLAND, NY (04/25/2014)(readMedia)-- Karen L. Corrie, a former International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor, has gathered evidence and witnessed genocides, crimes against humanity and war atrocities.

Corrie will discuss her experiences in both the international and domestic settings on Thursday, May 1, at SUNY Cortland.

She now serves as an adjunct professor at Fordham University and a consultant to the president of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the ICC.

Her lecture, titled "Inside the International Criminal Court: A Prospector's View," begins at 7 p.m. in Old Main, Room 229. The talk is free and open to the public.

Corrie will discuss her time as a prosecutor at the ICC and how she settled in that position. She also will explain what the ICC is, how it works and recent issues surrounding the ICC, which include particular concerns about its so-far exclusive focus on African leaders.

"I am very excited to speak to, not only students, but also faculty as well," Corrie said. "There aren't too many Americans that have worked in the courts and at the prosecutorial level."

At Fordham University, Corrie currently teaches undergraduate courses on international law and accountability mechanisms for international crimes.

A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., she began her career as an assistant district attorney at the New York County District Attorney's (DANY) Office in Manhattan. She then worked as an analyst and a trial lawyer with the Office of the Prosecutor at the ICC in The Hague, the Netherlands.

"Corrie will be sharing her knowledge of the court and its work, and her thoughts on its role in bringing war criminals to justice," said Tim Delaune, a SUNY Cortland assistant professor of political science and pre-law adviser.

Corrie's experience in the area of war crimes and human rights violations prosecutions will be useful to SUNY Cortland students interested in that line of work.

"Her talk will be of great interest to anyone who has followed the progress of the Court, or who wants to learn about its work for the first time," Delaune said.

Upon returning to New York from the Netherlands, Corrie worked as a litigation fellow with the Open Society Justice Initiative, where she litigated human rights issues before international and regional human rights courts and UN treaty bodies.

Next, as an ICC prosecutor, Corrie drafted legal submissions, which included a co-drafted brief that successfully opposed the Kenyan government's admissibility challenge in Prosecutor v. Ruto and Sang.

Corrie also conducted internationally broadcasted hearings, which consisted of oral argument and witness examination. She supervised 20 staff members to execute redaction and disclosure of evidence and she advised investigators, spoke with witnesses and collected documentary evidence.

During her time as an associate analyst in the Investigation Division of the ICC, Corrie researched and drafted factual reports on the structure of criminal organizations, the execution and consequences of criminal attacks and profiles of suspects.

She also collected documentary evidence in the field and from open sources, helped investigators prepare for witness interviews, screened potential witnesses and drafted legal submissions.

Before her years spent at the ICC, Corrie gained significant experience during her three years at the DANY, where she prosecuted felony and misdemeanor criminal cases, conducted grand jury presentations, hearings and trials and served as a member of the Sex Crimes Unit, Domestic Violence Unit and Identity Theft Unit.

Corrie's SUNY Cortland lecture is sponsored by grants from the Campus Artist and Lecture Series, the Political Science Department and the Clark Center for International Education.

For more information, contact Delaune at timothy.delaune@cortland.edu.

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