CIVILIAN COURT-MARTIAL DEFENSE LAWYER: MILITARY DEFENSE LAW OFFICES OF RICHARD V. STEVENS

Thursday, December 05, 2024

CIVILIAN COURT-MARTIAL DEFENSE LAWYERS: MILITARY NONCOMMISSIONED OFFICER (NCO) REPRESENTED BY ATTORNEY RICHARD V. STEVENS FOUND NOT GUILTY OF ALLEGED SEXUAL ASSAULT IN COURT-MARTIAL TRIAL (UCMJ Article 120)

Military Defense Lawyer (Former JAG Attorney) News:

Recently, a military NCO who faced a general court-martial (GCM) in which the NCO was accused of sexual assault was found not guilty of that allegation (UCMJ Article 120). The accused military member was defended by military law attorney Richard V. Stevens (Military Defense Law Offices of Richard V. Stevens, P.C.).

The military NCO client was accused of sexually assaulting a female military member after a party in which they consumed alcohol together and engaged in other social activities together. The complainant was interested in dating someone else, and what happened at the party jeopardized that. The complainant’s behavior at the party also could have jeopardized her Air Force career. But, by alleging sexual assault, the complainant was able to avoid the personal and professional consequences of her behavior that night.

The military NCO client faced a general court-martial trial. Before trial, there were multiple motion hearings dealing with the complainant’s background and possible issues regarding her credibility and reliability. During the trial, the complainant was cross-examined about significant issues regarding her lack of credibility and reliability, and her motives to misrepresent what actually happened that night. That included getting the complainant to admit that she lied, under oath, during her motion hearing testimony.

Ultimately, despite the environment in the military justice system regarding these issues, the accused NCO client was found not guilty of the charged sexual assault. Had there been a conviction regarding this sexual assault allegation, the client would have faced the possibility of many years in prison. Thankfully, the officer client was not convicted of this false claim and was cleared to continue their military career.

While the serious sexual assault allegation in this military court-martial 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.

In addition to the sexual assault allegation in this case, Attorney Richard V. Stevens has defended many, many other allegations of rape and sexual assault within the military justice system over the course of decades. He has been practicing military law since 1995. For more information about the military justice system, particularly cases alleging rape and sexual assault in the military, see:

https://militaryadvocate.com/practice-areas/sex-crimes/

We offer free consultations for a case you may be involved in. Just call us.

Thank you.

Military Defense Law Offices of Richard V. Stevens, P.C.

Civilian criminal defense lawyer and military defense lawyer

https://militaryadvocate.com/

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.

Monday, November 11, 2024

Happy Veterans Day!

Thank you to all who have served!

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

CIVILIAN COURT-MARTIAL DEFENSE LAWYER: MILITARY OFFICER REPRESENTED BY ATTORNEY RICHARD V. STEVENS RETAINED IN MILITARY AFTER FACING INVOLUNTARY ADMINISTRATIVE DISCHARGE CASE

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.) was retained in the military after facing involuntary administrative discharge action.

In the military justice system, a military member can face involuntary administrative discharge action (“getting kicked out”) for a variety of reasons. These reasons can include alleged misconduct. If the military member is not authorized to have their case heard in an administrative discharge board hearing (“Show Cause” board, “Board of Inquiry” [BOI], “Officer Elimination” board), then the case is decided based on the member’s written rebuttal package.

In this case, the military member had previously received a disciplinary action for alleged misconduct, but was a junior officer who was not authorized an administrative discharge board hearing. We were hired to represent the officer client in preparing the written rebuttal package in response to the involuntary administrative discharge notice.

A written rebuttal package for an administrative discharge case can include the member’s response statement and argument for retention, letters of support, awards and decorations, performance reports, other accomplishments and recognitions, and military career documents.

The disadvantage of not being entitled to a board hearing is that the board deciding the case does not hear from the member personally, or hear from witnesses, or hear the attorney arguments. Instead, they consider a written package, so it must be particularly compelling to achieve retention.

In this case, we submitted a compelling package that included obtaining and submitting important letters of support. Ultimately, after reviewing the rebuttal package, the officer client was retained in the military to continue serving. Because this was an administrative case, more details cannot be provided to protect the client’s privacy.

While this involuntary administrative discharge case was successfully defended, and the client was retained in the military, 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 involving administrative discharge actions, see:

https://militaryadvocate.com/practice-areas/administrative-discharge-separation/

We offer free initial consultations for a case you may be involved in. Just call us.

Thank you.

Military Defense Law Offices of Richard V. Stevens, P.C.

Civilian Criminal Defense Lawyer and Military Defense Lawyer

https://militaryadvocate.com/

Tuesday, October 01, 2024

CIVILIAN COURT-MARTIAL DEFENSE LAWYER: MILITARY OFFICER REPRESENTED BY ATTORNEY RICHARD V. STEVENS HAS ASSAULT AND SEXUAL ASSAULT CASE DROPPED (UCMJ ARTICLE 128 AND ARTICLE 120)

Military Defense Lawyer (Former JAG Attorney) News:

Recently, a senior military officer defended by attorney Richard V. Stevens (Military Defense Law Offices of Richard V. Stevens, P.C.) had the assault (UCMJ Article 128) and sexual assault (UCMJ Article 120) case he faced dropped by the military instead of preferring court-martial charges.

The military client was accused of, and investigated for, allegedly assaulting and sexually assaulting his former wife during their marriage. His wife made these claims when the officer client was seeking to divorce her and to obtain shared custody of the children. Upon learning of the divorce/custody fight, she immediately became combative, vindictive, sought custody of the children, and made these allegations against the military officer. She simultaneously attempted to use these allegations made within the military system to justify her custody of the children in civilian family court. This is a very common scenario within the current military justice system.

The military investigation into these allegations was lengthy, and we disputed the allegations on the military and civilian side of the case. The accuser’s motives to lie were obvious, and she had significant credibility issues. Ultimately, the Office of Special Trial Counsel elected not to prefer charges, and the command dropped the case altogether. This allowed the military officer to retire honorably from the military.

Had there been a court-martial trial and sex crime conviction in this case, the client could have been sentenced to a punitive discharge (dismissal for an officer), a lengthy term of confinement in prison and, in addition, he would have been required to register as a sex offender and would certainly have lost custody of his children. Thankfully, the case was dropped and could not be used as leverage by the accuser.

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:

https://militaryadvocate.com/military-offenses/sex-crimes/

We offer free consultations for a case you may be involved in. Just call us.

Thank you.

By: Military Defense Law Offices of Richard V. Stevens, P.C.

Civilian criminal defense lawyer and military defense lawyer

https://militaryadvocate.com/