Aahana Swrup
‘The Mauritanian’ is a taut drama film that charts the story of the titular Mohamedou Ould Slahi, who is held prisoner in Guantánamo Bay despite an evident lack of criminal charge. As a result, defense lawyer Nancy Hollander ends up taking up his case, defending the man against his unlawful imprisonment by the US government. In turn, Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Couch takes up the prosecution, determined to prove Mohamedou’s alleged crimes.
Nonetheless, once the Lieutenant begins going down his case’s rabbit hole—while Nancy learns about her client’s past and his time in the detention facility—brutal truths come out into the open. In her long and arduous legal fight, Nancy finds a crucial helping hand in a fellow lawyer, Theresa “Teri” Duncan, who ends up becoming an equally important part of Mohamedou’s on-scree tale. For the same reason, the character must have attracted the audience’s curiosity regarding a possible real-life counterpart from Mohamedou Ould Slahi’s real-life story.
Theresa “Teri” Duncan Was One of Slahi’s Actual Defense Attorneys
The biographical film ‘The Mauritanian’ charts the real-life narrative of Mohamedou Ould Slahi, the man from Mauritania who was detained in Guantanamo Bay by the US government. Despite his horrifying 14-year-long imprisonment, the authorities never charged him with anything and only arrested him on suspicion of involvement in the tragic 9/11 attacks. In 2015, while still under detainment, Slahi managed to publish a heavily redacted memoir, ‘Guantánamo Diary,’ which saw a restored edition in 2017. Kevin Macdonald’s film finds inspiration in this same autobiography, basing on-screen characters and events on the reality of Slahi’s experiences. As a result, most of the characters, including Teri Duncan, are based on an off-screen individual.
In real life, Theresa “Teri” Duncan is a real lawyer who fought for Slahi’s right to a fair trial alongside internationally recognized defense attorney Nancy Hollander. Duncan worked at the latter’s Albuquerque, New Mexico-based law firm. By 2004, a year before the duo took on Slahi’s case, the young lawyer made partner at the firm, which was then known as Freedman Boyd Hollander Goldberg Ives & Duncan. She accompanied Hollander on her visitation to their client in Cuba at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp as they worked together to build his case.
In 2010, the defense lawyers shared in his victory at the habeas corpus hearing, which proved his detainment unlawful. Even so, after the government appealed the ruling, Slahi was further detained at the military prison facility for another six years. During this time, Duncan and Hollander reportedly continued visiting the man, usually to keep him company. Years later, when the lawyer would discuss her experiences, Duncan highlighted the heartbreak and devastation she felt at Slahi’s unjust treatment. Yet, despite the harrowing circumstances, she’s glad to have earned the man’s lifelong friendship.
Shailene Woodley’s Character Often Diverges From Duncan’s Reality
Teri Duncan’s character is an on-screen, cinematic counterpart of Theresa “Teri” Duncan. Still, the two still manage to sport some differences. Even though ‘The Mauritanian’ is an authentic true-to-life account, the film still occasionally equips certain creative liberties in varying details. It seems Teri’s character warranted the employment of such liberties. In a conversation with The Movie Times, Shailene Woodley, the actress who portrays Teri on-screen, discussed her role and shared another source of inspiration.
“Teri’s character in the film is an amalgamation of two different people—real-life characters,” Woodley shared. “So although Teri Theresa Duncan is named after an actual Theresa Duncan (Mohamedou Ould Slahi’s real-life defense attorney), the way she’s portrayed in the film is based on another woman as well. And just for cinematic reasons, they had to condense these two people into one character.” While the identity of this second real-life inspiration has remained ambiguous all this time, her apparent influence on the character inevitably leads to some real-life discrepancies between Teri and her off-screen namesake. Nonetheless, Woodley’s performance retains an ultimate sense of realism by staying true to the legal beats of Slahi’s story through the character and her involvement in Slahi’s case.
Theresa Duncan is Now a Deputy Director of a Federal Project
Since Theresa Duncan’s involvement in Mohamedou Ould Slahi’s case, the lawyer has continued to serve the judicial system, dedicating herself to criminal defense issues, particularly regarding the death penalty. In 2012, she left her previous firm, Freedman Boyd Hollander Goldberg Ives & Duncan, now known as Freedman Boyd Hollander & Goldberg P.A. Afterward, she went on to become a managing attorney at Duncan Earnest LLC for more than a decade. During this time, in the late 2010s, she also co-authored several law books, including ‘Wharton’s Criminal Evidence,’ ‘Wharton’s Criminal Procedure,’ and ‘Everytrial Criminal Defense Resource.’
In 2024, Duncan finally founded her separate legal practice. Today, she continues to operate out of her Law Office as Theresa M. Duncan LLC in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Furthermore, she now serves as the Deputy Director of the Federal Death Penalty Resource Counsel Project. She also presides over the NACDL’s Death Penalty Committee as a co-chair, remaining involved in criminal defense cases. As such, Duncan seems to be on her way up in her professional career. As for her private life, the lawyer is happy to keep her personal matters out of the public eye. Thus, little else is known about her life outside of her thriving career.
Read More: Mohamedou Ould Slahi: Where is The Mauritanian Now?
