HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We wish you all a very Happy New Year and our best wishes for a safe, healthy and happy 2015.  To our  American service men and women, we are forever indebted to you for your sacrifice and service on our behalf.  Welcome 2015…

Civilian Court-Martial Defense Lawyers: End of Year Wrap-Up and Welcome to 2015

Military Criminal Defense Lawyer (Former JAG Attorney) News:

Another year has come to an end, and it was another gratifying year of defending those who defend us!  We want to sincerely thank our clients for allowing us the privilege of representing them and their families.  Thank you all so much for your service and your sacrifice!

As former military defense JAG lawyers, and now as civilian court-martial defense attorneys, we strive to help military members and their families during very difficult times.  Therefore, we measure the term “success” by how well we were able to help our clients and their families with outcomes that positively resolved the military cases, allegations, adverse actions and investigations they faced – not by our financial bottom lines.    

Looking back on 2014, it was marked by positive outcomes and grateful clients – from court-martial trials dropped and won to successful appeals and responses to other military adverse actions and discipline.  These outcomes are extremely gratifying for us.  Some of the successes from this past year have been documented in our blog (when we have time to post updates).  For the second straight year, I received the Avvo client’s choice award for military law in 2014.

This past year, I defended, represented, advised, counseled or otherwise assisted clients and/or handled cases out of:

- Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado

- Vance AFB, Oklahoma

- Tinker AFB Oklahoma

- Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey

- Joint Base Andrews, Maryland

- Fort Meade, Maryland

- The National Capital Region (NCR)

- Barksdale AFB, Louisiana

- Laughlin AFB, Texas

- Randolph AFB, San Antonio, Texas

- Joint Base San Antonio (Lackland AFB), Texas

- Tyndall AFB, Florida

- Eglin AFB, Florida

- Hurlburt Field, Florida        

- Los Angeles AFB, California

- Hill AFB, Utah

- Shaw AFB, South Carolina

- Robins AFB, Georgia

- Davis Monthan AFB, Arizona

- Fort Bliss, Texas

- Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

- Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, San Diego, California

- Naval Station Rota, Spain

- Marine Corps Base Hawaii (Kaneohe Bay)

- CENTCOM (MacDill AFB), Florida

- Misawa Air Base, Japan

Some of the cases, allegations and military law issues I handled this past year included:

- Rape, Sexual Assault, Sexual Misconduct (UCMJ Article 120)

- Forcible Sodomy (UCMJ Article 125)

- Larceny, Wrongful Appropriation (UCMJ Article 121)

- Insubordination, Failure to Obey Lawful Orders, & Dereliction of Duty (UCMJ Articles 91 & 92)

- Drug Offenses, Wrongful Use, Possession, Distribution of Controlled Substances (UCMJ Article 112a)

- Assault (UCMJ Article 128)

- Maltreatment (UCMJ Article 93)

- False Official Statements (UCMJ Article 107)

- Conduct Unbecoming an Officer and Gentleman (UCMJ Article 133)

- Joint Federal Travel Regulation (JFTR) fraud

- UCMJ Article 134 offenses including:

  - Adultery

  - Sexual Harassment

  - Accessing adult and child pornography on the internet

  - Dishonorable Failure to Pay Debt

  - Obstruction of Justice

Some of the adverse actions I have defended against this past year have included:

- Court-martial trials

- Administrative discharge/separation boards

- Article 15, Nonjudicial Punishment (NJP)

- Performance report appeals (OER, NCOER, OPR, EPR)

- Board of Corrections for Military Records (BCMR) appeals in different military branches

- Discharge Review Board (DRB) appeals in different military branches

- MEB/PEB cases in different military branches

- Flying Evaluation Boards (FEB)

- Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests

- Military Academy discipline, disenrollment, boards, and appeals

Here are some links to blog posts describing the outcomes of some of my 2014 cases:

http://militaryadvocate.blogspot.com/2014/10/civilian-court-martial-defense-lawyers_30.html

http://militaryadvocate.blogspot.com/2014/10/civilian-court-martial-defense-lawyers_17.html

http://militaryadvocate.blogspot.com/2014/10/civilian-court-martial-defense-lawyers.html

http://militaryadvocate.blogspot.com/2014/09/civilian-court-martial-defense-lawyers.html

http://militaryadvocate.blogspot.com/2014/08/civilian-court-martial-defense-lawyers.html

http://militaryadvocate.blogspot.com/2014/07/civilian-court-martial-defense-lawyers_19.html

http://militaryadvocate.blogspot.com/2014/07/civilian-court-martial-defense-lawyers.html

http://militaryadvocate.blogspot.com/2014/03/civilian-court-martial-defense-lawyers_12.html

http://militaryadvocate.blogspot.com/2014/03/civilian-court-martial-defense-lawyers_883.html

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

We are very thankful for the successful outcomes we have been able to secure for our clients this past year.  But, as we always warn, while the military court-martial trials and other military cases described in our blog posts were successfully defended against, it is important to understand that every case has different facts, and success in previous military courts-martial and military cases does not guarantee success in any particular future court-martial or military case.  No military lawyer or civilian defense lawyer, including those who specialize in military law, can guarantee the outcome of any military case or military trial. 

Given the potential consequences to military careers, families and personal freedom when facing military discipline, adverse action and/or court-martial trial, it is critical to be defended by a lawyer with experience in military law.  For those seeking assistance, we offer free initial case consultations. 

Please contact us by:

Toll Free Phone:  (800) 988-0602

E-mail:  militarylawfirm@gmail.com

Website:  www.militaryadvocate.com

By: Attorney Richard V. Stevens
Civilian criminal defense lawyer and military defense lawyer
Military Defense Law Offices of Richard V. Stevens, P.C.
http://www.militaryadvocate.com

Blog postscript: Attorney Frank J. Spinner and I (attorney Richard V. Stevens) are former active duty military lawyers (JAG). Our perspectives and advice, therefore, are based upon our experience as military defense lawyers and as civilian criminal defense lawyers 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 and The Law Office of Frank J. Spinner for a free consultation. These military defense law offices are located in Northern Florida (Pensacola, Ft Walton, Destin, Eglin AFB, Hurlburt Field, Duke Field, Panama City, Tyndall AFB areas) and Colorado Springs, Colorado (FT Carson, Peterson AFB, Air Force Academy, Schriever AFB, Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Buckley AFB areas), but our military defense law practices are worldwide – we travel to wherever our clients are stationed or serving and need us.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year!  Please keep our service men and women, and their families, in your thoughts and prayers this holiday season.  As we all enjoy our time off from work and our family time together, there are American troops serving overseas who will get no “real” holiday vacation this season and who are a world away from those who are dearest to them.   We need to keep their sacrifices and contributions in mind, thank them for their service, and pray for their safe return. 

CIVILIAN COURT-MARTIAL DEFENSE LAWYERS: Response to Parting Comments of Retired Air Force Chief Prosecutor, Colonel (Ret.) Don Christensen

(*Disclaimer:  This response presumes the news articles in question accurately reflect the information provided by Colonel (Ret.) Christensen to the reporters/publications.) 

See articles here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/30/magazine/the-militarys-rough-justice-on-sexual-assault.html?ref=magazine&_r=0

http://www.airforcetimes.com/story/military/2014/11/26/air-force-chief-prosecutor-don-christensen-leaves-air-force-protect-our-defenders/19531541/

In a publicized diatribe that began to sound like the Air Force JAG Corps’ version of the Michael Douglas movie “Falling Down,” Colonel Don Christensen has retired as the Chief Prosecutor of the Air Force, and has chosen to leave the service with a bang – trashing the military justice system, those he served with, and former clients.  “You stay classy, San Diego.”

Consistent with his inflammatory parting shots, he is apparently joining the inflammatory and often misinformed advocacy group, Protect Our Defenders (POD).  A group that publicly pushes stories that, in many instances, are dramatically one-sided and agenda-driven.    

Colonel (Ret.) Christensen’s publicized comments, as a whole, seem to demonstrate a special level of arrogance that Nancy Grace and many in Congress also seem to possess – advocating that dropped cases and acquittals are failures of a criminal justice system, every sexual assault allegation is true, and they are among the omniscient ones who know exactly what happened behind closed doors in these cases and mere mortals aren’t able to know or understand what is so clear to them – believing also that if a case doesn’t go the prosecution’s way, the system has failed and must be changed.  When will there be a reality check? 

Didn’t Colonel (Ret.) Christensen serve as an Air Force Circuit Defense Counsel and a Military Judge?  Wasn’t it (then) Judge Don Christensen who vocally criticized Congress for how UCMJ Article 120 (military rape statute) was re-written the first time (the first attempt by Congress to pre-determine outcomes in favor of the prosecution)?  What happened to that Don Christensen?  Does he understand how his latest public comments and perspectives are now undermining any confidence Air Force members have in the roles of Air Force defense counsel and Military Judges?  If Air Force defense counsel and Military Judges secretly harbor feelings such as his, who can Air Force members facing allegations trust?  And, where were his formal complaints about the horrible “injustices” and “failures” in the military justice system in the decades he served in the Air Force JAG Corps before the Wilkerson case? 

While the symbol of justice is a scale, there is no balance in the public “debate” and narrative about the military justice system.  Even the primary competing positions and bills in Congress (incorrectly) accept that the military justice system is “broken,” they just have different ideas about how to “fix” it.  What they don’t give voice to in this debate are the Constitutional rights and protections afforded to an accused military member – who is also a “defender in need of protection.”  What they don’t give voice to is the possibility that allegations can be false and the importance of the presumption of innocence.  What they don’t give voice to is the reality that they are not trying to make the military justice fair, they are trying to ensure the outcomes are one-sided in favor of the prosecution:  anything but fair.  And now, Colonel (Ret.) Christensen is joining the fight to attempt to change the military justice system to ensure prosecution victory in military alleged rape and sexual assault cases.   

I wonder if Colonel (Ret.) Christensen sees the disconnect in now publicly describing his victories as an Air Force defense counsel as distasteful exercises of his defense counsel obligations?  I suspect there are many in the defense community, and former clients of his, who might now question his perspectives on the obligations of a defense counsel.  Many, myself included, would argue that defense counsel obligations do not include making inflammatory public statements like his about one’s defense experience.  I’m sure his former clients are not very pleased to read that he believed them to be guilty “sexual predators,” he felt defending them was distasteful, he wanted to whisper to their accusers that he believed them, and acquittals he won were due to Colonel Christensen fooling “ignorant jurors” and running roughshod over what he apparently believed to be inferior military prosecutors and military judges.  Wow. 

In my experience as a defense counsel, we don’t make public statements about personal beliefs that clients were guilty.  In my experience as a defense counsel, we don’t describe to newspapers that clients were “sexual predators.”  Many, myself included, would argue that your obligations as a defense counsel to your clients don’t end when you PCS or retire, and that Colonel Christensen’s stated beliefs about what he sees as his obligations to the military justice system as a member of POD are as skewed as his understanding of defense counsel obligations to our clients. 

And, many, myself included, would argue that the Constitution Colonel (Ret.) Christensen and I swore an oath to uphold and defend when we entered military service is a sacred document – including the provisions that protect a criminal accused against the overwhelming power of the State and the provisions that attempt to ensure fair criminal justice systems.  After all, those rights protect all of us. 

    

In the high percentage of pre-Wilkerson sexual assault cases in which meaningful clemency wasn’t granted, did Colonel (Ret.) Christensen believe the military justice system was “broken?”  I suspect not.  Only in an outlier case in which meaningful clemency was granted does he not only claim the system is broken, but that the military justice system was “lost.”  If that is truly what he believes, then Colonel (Ret.) Christensen has lost all perspective, which is a perfect fit for his new employer (POD). 

A prime example of this loss of perspective is his apparent insinuation that court-martial convening authorities select potential court members based on a desire for the accused to be acquitted.  While I don’t disagree that random selection of potential court members in the military may be desirable goal, I strongly disagree with the absurd insinuation of Colonel (Ret.) Christensen. 

Colonel (Ret.) Christensen is clearly disgruntled and he seems to relish the idea of being a “troublemaker.”  We have no way to know what he means by his performance report being “downgraded,” nor will we likely ever hear from his Air Force raters about that.  Since there were direct congratulatory e-mails between TJAG Harding and Colonel Christensen after the Wilkerson trial, it seems doubtful that Colonel Christensen’s performance report was “downgraded” because of his prosecution of Lt Col Wilkerson.  Colonel (Ret.) Christensen’s narrative about this performance report will likely be accepted by many as “fact,” but I would bet there is another side to that story.  There are many skewed public narratives about the military justice system that are likewise accepted as “fact,” even though there is another side to the story.      

In the NY Times article, Colonel (Ret.) Christensen elects to insult scores of Air Force JAGs by complaining that the Air Force attempted to “punish” a JAG of his self-proclaimed skill and pedigree by attempting to assign him to the appellate bench.  The article states:

"Christensen nearly laughed when he learned of this "promotion." The appellate court was widely understood to be the Air Force's dumping ground for JAG misfits."

In lieu of listing all the Air Force JAGs who have served on the Air Force appellate court, I would simply state that Lt Gen (Ret.) Jack Rives, the former Air Force Judge Advocate General, served on the Air Force appellate court.  Was he one of those “misfits?”  I’m sure he will be very interested to read Colonel Christensen’s view of the Air Force appellate bench.  It’s apparently good enough for a TJAG, but not good enough for Colonel Christensen.  Given his slanted view of the military justice system and himself, the Air Force JAG Corps is fortunate that Colonel Christensen did not accept a position on the Air Force Court.  If he had, the system might well have been “lost” after all.    

Based on these newspaper articles, it is doubtful that Colonel (Ret.) Christensen will ever develop a reasonable perspective regarding the military justice system.  And, he will be one of many pushing what I would argue is an inaccurate public narrative about the military justice system.  For anyone leaving the military justice system with a perspective like Colonel (Ret.) Christensen’s I say “it’s past time for you to go.”  A system is not broken and in need of change just because a prosecutor disagrees with some case outcomes. 

If it would do any good, I suggest Colonel (Ret.) Christensen read and consider these articles/posts to gain some perspective:

Cathy Young’s, slate.com article here:

http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2014/09/false_rape_accusations_why_must_be_pretend_they_never_happen.html

USAF Maj Matthew Burris’ paper:

http://militaryadvocate.blogspot.com/2014/04/air-force-major-matthew-burris-thinking.html

USMC Capt Lindsay Rodman’s (military rape/sexual assault statistics) article:

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323582904578484941173658754

Attorney Edward Greer (the 2% false rape allegation myth):

http://ncfm.org/libraryfiles/Children/rape/greer.pdf

Philip Rumney, of Sheffield Hallam University.  His article appears in the Cambridge Law Journal here (the 2% false rape allegation myth):

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=430299

Professor Anne Hendershott, who teaches sociology and is the Director of the Veritas Center for Ethics in Public Life at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio.  Her article appears in the Washington Times, here:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/mar/20/hendershott-a-flurry-of-sexual-assault-accusations/

Blog post:  http://militaryadvocate.blogspot.com/2014/03/civilian-court-martial-defense-lawyers_21.html

Roxanne Jones, who is a founding editor of “ESPN The Magazine” and a former Vice President at ESPN. She is a national lecturer on sports, entertainment and women's topics and a recipient of the 2010 Woman of the Year award from Women in Sports and Events.  Her insightful CNN editorial about false rape allegations generally can be found here:

http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/26/opinion/jones-sex-consent-texting/

Blog post:  http://militaryadvocate.blogspot.com/2014/02/civilian-court-martial-defense-lawyers_3.html

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.  Also, see:

http://militaryadvocate.com/military-offenses/rape-sexual-assault-sodomy/

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.
http://www.militaryadvocate.com

Blog postscript: Attorney Frank J. Spinner and I (attorney Richard V. Stevens) are former active duty military lawyers (JAG). Our perspectives and advice, therefore, are based upon our experience as military defense lawyers and as civilian criminal defense lawyers 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 and The Law Office of Frank J. Spinner for a free consultation. These military defense law offices are located in Northern Florida (Pensacola, Ft Walton, Destin, Eglin AFB, Hurlburt Field, Duke Field, Panama City, Tyndall AFB areas) and Colorado Springs, Colorado (FT Carson, Peterson AFB, Air Force Academy, Schriever AFB, Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Buckley AFB areas), but our military defense law practices are worldwide – we travel to wherever our clients are stationed or serving and need us.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving!  To all the American military families out there, particularly those separated from each other due to military service, a very special thank you.  In the words of USMC Father Dennis Edward O'Brien:

---------------------------------------------------------| 

THE SOLDIER

It is the soldier,
not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the soldier,
not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the soldier,
not the campus organizer,
who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier,
not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the soldier,
who salutes the flag,
who serves under the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
who allows the protesters to burn the flag.

---------------------------------------------------------|

Pilgrim Edward Winslow describes the first Thanksgiving in 1621:

Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruits of our labor. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which we brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.

HAPPY VETERANS DAY!

Please take some time today to reflect on, and thank, those brave veterans who have served and protected our country in the past, those who are currently serving our country, and the families who support and share in their sacrifices for us.  Have a wonderful and meaningful Veterans Day!