Happy 4th of July!

 

Happy 4th of July and Happy 250th America!

Happy and Reflective Memorial Day!

 

We hope you and yours have a happy and meaningful Memorial Day weekend.  

Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day - a day for remembrance of those Americans who have died in service to our great country.  

In the midst of your other holiday activities, please take some time to reflect on the meaning of the holiday and say thanks for those brave Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, and the ideals we stand for!

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 service 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.  Attorney Richard V. Stevens was 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, witness statements, evidence, the respondent’s memo, and the attorney’s legal memo/brief.  In the submission in this case, we attacked all facets of the discharge action.  We attacked the procedural errors.  We attacked the government’s flawed interpretation of military law and applicable regulations, and we convincingly attacked the government’s misguided claim that the client had committed misconduct.    

Ultimately, after the discharge board reviewed the rebuttal package, the officer client was retained in the military and will 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 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.

CIVILIAN COURT-MARTIAL DEFENSE LAWYERS: SUCCESSFUL DEFENSES OF MILITARY FLYING EVALUATION BOARD CASES

 

Military Defense Lawyer (Former JAG Attorney) News:

Recently, we were asked to provide examples of some of our military cases in which we have successfully defended Flying Evaluation Board (FEB) clients.    

Our blog has many posts about such cases in the different service branches, and we have defended many of these cases over the decades of our military legal defense practice.  While we won’t go back and re-post every blog post on this topic, we did feel it could be helpful to compile some posts about this topic in order to make the point that although the military adverse action system can seem to be very focused on securing wins and ensuring the adverse actions stick, these FEB cases are not hopeless.  With strong attorneys to advocate your case, and a solid defense strategy born from decades of FEB experience, successful case outcomes can be achieved. 

In this post, we use the term “flying evaluation board,” but these aviation boards go by different names in the different military service branches.  In the Air Force and Army, this hearing process is referred to as a Flying Evaluation Board (FEB).  In the Navy, this process is referred to as a Field Naval Aviator Evaluation Board (FNAEB).  In the Marine Corps, the two pilot boards in this process are the Field Flight Performance Board (FFPB) and the Flight Status Selection Board (FSSB).

Below, please find 11 blog posts describing 13 different military pilots and FEB cases in the different service branches that military defense lawyer Richard V. Stevens has successfully defended in recent years.  For us, these successes represent military members and their families who were saved from the destruction of their military aviation career and possible loss of their military careers as well.    

https://militaryadvocate.blogspot.com/2025/11/civilian-court-martial-defense-lawyer_7.html

https://militaryadvocate.blogspot.com/2024/08/civilian-court-martial-defense-lawyer.html

https://militaryadvocate.blogspot.com/2024/03/civilian-court-martial-defense-lawyer.html

https://militaryadvocate.blogspot.com/2023/07/civilian-court-martial-defense-lawyer.html

https://militaryadvocate.blogspot.com/2020/09/civilian-court-martial-defense-lawyer_23.html

https://militaryadvocate.blogspot.com/2019/06/civilian-court-martial-defense-lawyer.html

https://militaryadvocate.blogspot.com/2019/05/civilian-court-martial-defense-lawyer_26.html

https://militaryadvocate.blogspot.com/2019/03/civilian-court-martial-defense-lawyer_29.html

https://militaryadvocate.blogspot.com/2014/03/civilian-court-martial-defense-lawyers_11.html

https://militaryadvocate.blogspot.com/2013/10/civilian-court-martial-lawyers-military_29.html

https://militaryadvocate.blogspot.com/2012/06/civilian-court-martial-lawyers-military_27.html

While these Flying Evaluation Board cases were successfully defended, it is important to understand that every aviation 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 and in aviation cases, can guarantee the outcome of any military case.

For more information about the military justice system, particularly Flying Evaluation Board cases, see:

https://militaryadvocate.com/practice-areas/flying-evaluation-board/

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.