Military
Defense Lawyer (Former JAG Attorney) News:
Recently, three
different military clients accused or rape and sexual assault, who were represented
and defended by attorney Richard V. Stevens (Military Defense Law Offices of
Richard V. Stevens, P.C.), had their cases dropped by the government (UCMJ
Article 120).
The first military client
was a senior NCO who was close to retirement.
He was accused of forcible rape by a civilian acquaintance. As the investigation proceeded toward
court-martial charges, the complainant’s story started to fall apart, which
included text message evidence before and after the alleged event that did not
match her story or make sense in light of her allegations. Even though the complainant was willing to
participate and go to trial with the case, the military decided to take adverse
administrative action against the client instead, because they concluded that
they would not prevail in trial. This is
now a common occurrence – the military concludes that they could not win at
trial, so they attempt to punish and discharge the accused
administratively. In response to the
military administrative adverse action against the client, we submitted a lengthy and
aggressive rebuttal, with evidentiary exhibits including text messages and witness statements we obtained.
Based on the defense rebuttal, the case against the client was dropped,
and he was cleared to move forward with his military career.
The second and third recent
military rape/sexual assault cases were against junior enlisted clients. In both cases, as the investigations proceeded, the text and chat evidence that was uncovered was contrary to the
complainants’ stories, and made no sense in light of their allegations. When this reality became apparent to the
complainants, in both cases, the complainants elected not to participate in the
cases and the military took no further adverse action against the clients. They were cleared to move forward with their
military careers.
All three of these
cases involved “hook-ups.” All three of
these cases involved some amount of drinking alcohol. In two of the three cases, the complainants
had boyfriends behind whose backs the complainants were behaving in a very
inappropriate way given the status of their exclusive relationships.
These three recent military
cases, again, raise the concern about how false allegations are made to
shield a person from the personal and/or professional consequences of their bad
behavior. They show how false allegations
are so harmful not only to the person who is falsely accused, but to those who are true
victims of sexual assault and to the military justice system. And, they show how electronic evidence can be
crucial in exposing the truth, and not allowing allegations to be blindly
believed because it is politically expedient.
Here is an article written
back in 2013 by a female executive and media member, who was also the mother of
teen sons, that discussed some of these very troubling issues:
Had there been court-martial
trials and sex crime convictions in these cases, the military clients could
have been sentenced to punitive discharges, lengthy terms of confinement in
prison and, in addition, they would have been required to register as sex
offenders. Thankfully, these military rape/sexual assault cases were
dropped and the clients were spared this risk of devastation to their futures.
While these military sexual
assault cases were successfully defended, it is important to understand that
every case has different facts, and success in previous cases does not
guarantee success in any particular future case. No military lawyer
or civilian defense lawyer, including those who specialize in military law, can
guarantee the outcome of any military trial or case.
For more information
about the military justice system, particularly cases alleging rape and/or
sexual assault in violation of UCMJ Article 120, type "rape" or
"sexual assault" into the search bar above the blog posts and see:
We offer free
consultations for a case you may be involved in. Just call us.
Thank you.
By: Attorney
Richard V. Stevens
Civilian criminal
defense lawyer and military defense lawyer
Military Defense Law
Offices of Richard V. Stevens, P.C.
Blog
postscript: I (attorney Richard V. Stevens) am a former active duty military
lawyer (JAG). My perspectives and advice, therefore, are based upon my
experience as military defense lawyer and as a civilian criminal defense lawyer
practicing exclusively in the area of military law and military justice. This
blog addresses issues in military law, military justice, military discipline,
military defense, court-martial practice, the Uniform Code of Military Justice
(UCMJ) and other military and/or legal topics. Nothing posted in this blog
should be substituted for legal advice in any particular case. If you seek
legal advice for a particular case, please contact The Law Offices of Richard
V. Stevens for a free consultation. These military defense law offices are
located in the Washington DC, Northern Virginia, Maryland, National Capital
Region (NCR), but the military defense representation is worldwide – when
necessary, the attorneys travel to wherever the client is stationed around the
world.
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