Military Criminal Defense Lawyer (Former JAG
Attorney) News:
It is a new year, but the same old drum beat of
rhetoric continues among misinformed and misguided members of Congress, the
Executive, DoD, advocacy groups and press stories when addressing allegations
of rape and sexual assault in the military justice system: “The military justice system is broken and
needs to be fixed!”
The rules regarding pretrial Article 32
hearings have now been significantly changed.
The 2015 NDAA seeks more changes on top of those from the 2014
NDAA. Procedural protections are being stripped
at an alarming rate from military members accused of rape or sexual
assault. Opportunities for investigation
and discovery into the veracity of allegations and credibility of complainants have
been dramatically reduced. Members of
Congress are squabbling over whose ideas for changing the military justice
system will be more effective…all attempting to ensure predetermined outcomes
in military courts-martial – that the accused will be convicted, sentenced
harshly, and receive no post-trial relief.
It’s hard to believe this is America.
It’s hard to believe a movement based on the presumption of guilt can so
brazenly press forward in our government.
Any American criminal justice system in which
the rules are changed to reduce and limit investigation and discovery regarding
complaining witnesses because the previous allowable investigation and
discovery hurt the successful prosecution of cases is not a “justice” system at
all, nor is it a system that values the rights expressed in, and arising from,
the United States Constitution. Any
prosecutor or law maker who supports there being fewer procedural and discovery
protections for a criminal accused is someone who has forgotten or ignored that
the government’s responsibility in a criminal case is not simply to successfully convict the accused, but to ensure
justice and fairness in the process.
Not only are agenda-driven lawmakers taking aim
at the military, they are taking aim at college campuses. There is no balance in the public narrative,
but there are those in the minority who are attempting to point out the
erroneous presumptions fueling the lynch mob.
Here are some of them:
“The College Rape Overcorrection” by Emily Yoffe
at Slate.com:
“10 Reasons False Rape Accusations are Common”
by Jonathan Taylor at A Voice for Male Students:
“Start by Believing – the Accused” by Col Dan
Higgins and Maj Shad Kidd at (Air Force) The Reporter, Volume 41, Issue #2,
Page 16:
“Crying Rape” (False Allegations) by Cathy
Young at Slate.com:
“Thinking
Slow About Sexual Assault in the Military” by Air Force Maj Matthew Burris:
“The
Pentagon’s Bad Math on Sexual Assault” by USMC Capt Lindsay Rodman (military
rape/sexual assault statistics):
Attorney
Edward Greer (the 2% false rape allegation myth):
Philip
Rumney, of Sheffield Hallam University. His article appears in the
Cambridge Law Journal here (the 2% false rape allegation myth):
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:
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:
Blog
post: http://militaryadvocate.blogspot.com/2014/02/civilian-court-martial-defense-lawyers_3.html
No one knows how this crusade to “fix” the
military justice system will end, but the goal of the crusaders certainly is
not justice, nor is it fairness, nor is it supporting and defending the
Constitution of the United States. The
goal of the crusaders is prosecution victory.
Period. That is a very dangerous
perspective, and it is one often espoused by enemies of the United States in
totalitarian regimes.
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:
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
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.
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