Justice Goes International

Last year, DeKalb County Assistant District Attorney Jill Polster (J.D. '01) temporarily put her job on hold to help bring a case against Jean-Pierre Bemba, former vice president of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

From February to May 2009, Polster joined the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal - The International Criminal Court - in The Hague, Netherlands, as a visiting professional. The ICC is an independent body that came into force just in the last decade.

"It was the experience of a lifetime," Polster said. "I applied for the program on a whim."

Bemba is charged with war crimes. He led the Movement to Liberate the Congo opposition party, and his militia allegedly raped, murdered and tortured people to maintain power. The trial is set to begin later this year.

For her part, Polster spent 90 days helping to amend the charges against Bemba, resulting in the ICC agreeing to hear the case. The charges attempt to hold Bemba personally liable as a commander of a militia alleged to have been out of control.

"Every minute in there we were setting precedent," Polster said. "It was an incredible opportunity. I was really able to dig in to the case."

Since returning from the ICC, Polster has been working with DeKalb's special victims' team on high-risk domestic violence and murder cases.

Her passion lies in helping the innocent. While at GSU, she co-founded the Georgia Innocence Project, which uses DNA testing to help to free people who have been wrongfully convicted of crimes.

"I'm all about justice," Polster said. "That's why I started the Georgia Innocence Project, and that's why I'm a prosecutor."