Tiffany Mitchell, a third-year student at University of Wisconsin Law School, won the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Armed Forces Law 2025 writing contest with her paper "Unaccountable: Command Responsibility and Army Officers’ Impunity for Subordinate War Crimes."

This prestigious contest recognizes a law student's exceptional written work on the military's application of criminal law.

Mitchell, who comes from a long line of veterans, has dedicated 20 years to the Army Reserves. She has served in various capacities, initially enlisting as an administrative specialist before transitioning to an Intelligence officer. Mitchell has been deployed twice, once to Afghanistan and once to Qatar.

She decided to become a lawyer to improve the military justice system based on her experiences and observations of racial disparity in the military. Through this paper, Mitchell continues on this path, raising awareness for the lack of accountability in cases of command responsibility, where a commander can be held accountable for the actions of their subordinates.

“Tiffany is both an excellent student and an experienced military officer,” said Kevin Kelly, associate dean for Academic Affairs and a retired Navy Judge Advocate. “Tiffany demonstrated that she has a sincere dedication to ensuring the U.S. military follows through on its obligations to the rule of law, both as an external matter -- how our military operates internationally —and also internally, especially how the military treats its own. When Tiffany receives her JD and returns to the Army, she will be a source of pride for the UW Law School community.”

 

Related story:

Tiffany Mitchell on wanting to “change the system for the better” (2023)

Submitted by Law School News on February 3, 2025

This article appears in the categories: Features, Students