Military
Defense Lawyer (Former JAG Attorney) News:
Recently, a military
officer defended by attorney Richard V. Stevens (Military Defense Law Offices
of Richard V. Stevens, P.C.) had the sexual assault case he faced dropped by
the military just before court-martial charges were to be preferred against him
(UCMJ Article 120).
The military client
was accused of, and investigated for, allegedly having sex with a military acquaintance
who the client met at an event. The
defense denied the entirety of that claim.
The complaining witness was intoxicated and acting in a bizarre manner
during the evening, as verified by the other witnesses who were present. The day after the alleged event, the
complainant did not act as if anything was wrong, but then her father picked
her up and was unhappy about how the situation appeared. Later, the complainant claimed she had been
sexually assaulted by the client.
However, her claim made no sense in a variety of crucial ways and the
defense was prepared to dispute her entire story.
When the DNA evidence
came back, it not only failed to corroborate the complaining witness’s claims
against the client, but it introduced a new scenario and individual into the
case. The complaining witness demanded
immunity, but still wanted to press forward with her claims against the client. The client’s commander would not prefer
charges, so the military found a commander above him to prefer the
court-martial charges. The defense was
notified of preferral of court-martial charges and began preparing for an Article
32 hearing, including identifying witnesses who would refute the complainant’s
story. The complainant, presumably
knowing that her credibility was damaged because of the observations of the
other witnesses and her own behavior that night, changed her mind and elected
not to participate in the case. The
military then dropped the case before court-martial charges were
preferred.
Had there been a
court-martial trial and sex crime conviction in this case, the client could
have been sentenced to a punitive discharge, a lengthy term of confinement in
prison and, in addition, he would have been required to register as a sex offender. Thankfully, the case was dropped and he was spared this
risk of devastation to his future.
While this military
court-martial and sexual assault case was 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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