James admits that in 2002, the year before his tenure at Guantanamo, a team of CIA psychologists came to Cuba to train soldiers in harsh interrogation methods. But by James' account, the whole point of his mission at Guantanamo, and then at Abu Ghraib, was to reverse the culture of abuse that resulted.[2]
Trudy Bond, another psychologist, requested in 2008 that the Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists review the ethics of James' work in Guantanamo.[6]
When the board dismissed Bond's complaint she requested the Board's actions be reviewed by the state court. State District Judge Mike Caldwell ruled he did not have jurisdiction over the Board.
In July 2010, Deborah Popowski, Terry Lodge and Tyler Giannini filed a challenge to James's right to practice psychology with the Ohio Board of Psychology.[7][8] In June 2013, the Ohio state court dismissed the case on procedural grounds and ruled that Ohio's psychology licensing board did not have a legal obligation to conduct an investigation into Dr. James.[9]
