Military Defense Lawyer (Former JAG Attorney)
News:
Recently, in two separate, unrelated, cases, military members defended by attorney Richard V. Stevens (Military Defense Law Offices of Richard V. Stevens, P.C.) had the sexual assault court-martial cases they faced dropped by the military (UCMJ Article 120).
In the first case, an enlisted military member was accused of sexual assault by another military member after a night of drinking. The complainant claimed she was taken advantage of by the client when she was too drunk to consent. The client was placed on administrative hold pending court-martial and a long investigation followed. Attorney Richard V. Stevens was hired by the client to represent him in the investigation. During the investigation, as more information was uncovered about the complainant and her claim, the case grew weaker. Finally, when the investigation concluded, the military elected not to pursue a court-martial. The court-martial case was dropped, and the military addressed the case administratively instead.
In the second case, a military enlisted noncommissioned officer (NCO) was accused of forcible sexual assault and domestic violence by a civilian he had a domestic relationship with, and her children alleged domestic assault as well. The client was charged, his case proceeded through an Article 32 hearing, the case was referred to trial by general court-martial, and the defense filed multiple pretrial motions. Those motions addressed issues regarding the complainant’s background and her serious credibility and reliability issues. This included prior issues with civilian law enforcement, the civilian court system, and civilian welfare agencies. The complainant’s motives to fabricate were obvious, as the complaints were made when the relationship went bad and child custody issues arose. Ultimately, facing the defense motions, on the eve of the motion hearing the government elected to drop the court-martial charges and case, and address the case administratively instead.
Had there been court-martial trials and sex crime convictions in these cases, the clients could have been sentenced to a punitive discharge (dishonorable discharge), a lengthy term of confinement in prison and, in addition, they would have been required to register as a sex offender. Thankfully, the court-martial cases were dropped and the clients were spared this risk of significant negative impacts for their future.
While these military courts-martial and sexual assault cases were 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.
Military Defense Law Offices of Richard V. Stevens, P.C.
Civilian Criminal Defense Lawyer and Military Defense
Lawyer
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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