A Fayetteville native is helping prosecute insurgents in Iraq as part of his duties as an assistant staff judge advocate in the U.S. Air Force.

Capt. Matt McCall is assigned to a unit that refers cases for investigation to the Central Criminal Court of Iraq. The trials are conducted by Iraqi judges using Iraqi law and criminal procedure.

McCall said his favorite part of the job so far has been “working with Iraqi personnel to improve the rule of law in Iraq.”

The CCCI has two chambers – an investigative court and a trial court – and follows a judicial process in which the investigative judge plays a key role. An investigative judge controls the investigation of a case, recommends charges if sufficient evidence has been discovered, and refers the case to trial when warranted.

To date, the CCCI has held 1,537 trials of insurgents suspected of anti-Iraqi and anti-Coalition activities threatening the security of Iraq and targeting multi national forces. These proceedings have resulted in 1,309 individual convictions with sentences ranging up to death.

McCall is a 1994 graduate of the University of Georgia and 2001 graduate of the University of Hawaii School of Law.

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