CLIENT: A2L Consulting
SCOPE: PDF Presentation Design for Judicial Review
In February 2017, three former military psychologists and two former American Psychological Association (APA) employees filed a lawsuit in Ohio alleging they were defamed by the findings of an independent review conducted for the APA by David Hoffman, an attorney with the Chicago firm of Sidley Austin LLP.
The APA Board of Directors engaged attorney Hoffman in November 2014 to conduct an independent review of whether there was any factual support for the assertion that the APA engaged in activity that would constitute collusion with the George W. Bush administration to promote, support or facilitate the use of "enhanced" interrogation techniques by the United States in the war on terror.
The review reported undisclosed coordination between some APA officials and military psychologists:
“The Hoffman report contains deeply disturbing findings that reveal previously unknown and troubling instances of collusion,” said Dr. Susan McDaniel, a member of the Independent Review’s Special Committee. “The process by which the Presidential Task Force on Psychological Ethics and National Security (PENS) was created, the composition of its membership, the content of the PENS report and the subsequent activities related to the report were influenced by collusion between a small group of APA representatives and government officials.”
The Hoffman report states that the intent of the individuals who participated in the collusion was to “curry favor” with the Defense Department, and that may have enabled the government’s use of abusive interrogation techniques.
The judge dismissed the charges on the grounds that the Ohio court had no jurisdiction to consider the merits of the case. The APA is not based in Ohio, it engaged in no activities related to the case in that state and APA did not direct publication or dissemination of the alleged defamatory materials within the state. The case was ultimately refiled in Washington, DC.
