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
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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