Military Trial Lawyers - Military courts and civilian criminal courts operate under different rules. Military courts follow the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) rather than criminal procedures. This code applies to all branches of service and all military situations.
If you face a military court, you need a strong defense. Understanding the difference between a military attorney and a civilian attorney can help you choose the best person to represent you in court.
Military Trial Lawyers
A JAG attorney is an active duty military officer who represents service members in court martial. It's like appointing a public defender. When you are officially charged with a crime, the military will assign you a JAG attorney.
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But you have the right to retain a private attorney to represent you at a court martial. You can still retain your Jag attorney to work with a civil criminal defense attorney.
In addition to practicing in different courts, there are three main differences to consider when deciding to hire a civilian lawyer for a military case.
To practice in civil criminal court, an attorney must earn a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an ABA-approved law school and pass the state bar exam. Once a lawyer becomes a member of the bar, he can begin practicing law and representing clients in court.
However, military attorneys receive additional training before representing clients in military courts. A JAG training attorney teaches the law of military courts and how to defend a client against military charges.
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Some civil criminal lawyers are ex-JAG lawyers. Therefore, you will understand the different court rules and procedures used in military courts. They also understand civilian criminal court, which is useful when a service member commits a crime that could result in court-military and civilian criminal charges.
Civil juries are composed of six to 12 judges. Criminal cases consist of 12 judges. The jury must reach a unanimous verdict. Judges are selected from individuals who meet the criteria to serve on a jury.
However, military judges are different. A military jury can only consist of three people. The exact number depends on the situation. Most military juries are composed of commissioned officers, but the accused may request that enlisted members sit as jurors.
Another significant difference between military and civilian juries is that, except in death penalty cases, two-thirds of military juries are required to find guilty. Therefore, "hung" juries are not common in military proceedings. Knowing the prosecutor's ability to convince two-thirds of the jury in a military court can influence the lawyer's trial strategy.
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The accused may appeal the decision of the court or the judgment of the superior court in a civil case. However, there is no one specific way to appeal all civil court decisions.
In the military, there is a specific process for appealing all decisions. Each military branch develops its own process for appeals. A military or civilian attorney may not expedite the military appeals process or skip any step in the chain of command.
The best option is to hire a civilian defense attorney with experience as a military attorney. It's the best of both worlds and having a good defense law firm gives you a better chance of winning military lawsuits.
If you are facing a court-martial, you must take an aggressive approach to defending yourself in a court-martial. This may include hiring a civilian attorney to work with your JAG attorney. Guantanamo Defense Attorney Resigns, Says US Affairs 'Iron', self-proclaimed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has resigned from the military. The government says it is on a "trial demonstration".
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Jason Wright, seen here during a 15-month deployment to Iraq, served nine years in the military before retiring last week. Hidden statement by Jason Wright
Jason Wright, seen here during a 15-month deployment to Iraq, served nine years in the military before retiring last week.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks, is facing a military commission at Guantanamo Bay and could face the death penalty. He was arrested in 2003, but the case has not yet been brought to trial.
Last week, Major Jason Wright - one of Muhammad's defense lawyers - resigned from the army. The US government accused him of "terrible leadership" on human rights and guarantees of due process, and said he was creating a "show trial".
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Wright He was in Muhammad's defense team for three years.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's covert statement on the 9/11 attacks and the US AFP/Getty Images
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has claimed responsibility for the 9/11 attacks and several other attacks on the United States.
Wright He officially resigned on August 26. At the beginning of this year, the army instructed to release its personnel to complete the post-graduate studies required to be promoted from captain to major. He refused the order; He said it was immoral to follow him.
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Wright tells Arun Rath that gaining the trust of any client is difficult, but it was especially difficult with Muhammad. Their former client is one of six "high-value detainees" at Guantanamo charged with crimes that could carry the death penalty.
Wright specifically says that Muhammad suffered a level of torture beyond comprehension. His client says he was waterboarded by the CIA 183 times and suffered sleep deprivation for a week. There were threats to kill the family. "And those are unclassified facts that I can really speak to," Wright says.
"You come years later and say, 'I'm from the U.S. government and I'm going to help you,' ... and you add the complication of saying, 'I'm wearing the same uniform as the guards,'" he says. . "It's very challenging to build trust and confidence with a customer in any situation. But when you add that torture method, everything is more difficult."
Wright was not allowed to go into much detail in court about the abuse of prisoners. Laura Peters of Human Rights Watch cited a recent Foreign Policy article on "original sin" and the complexity of terrorism issues.
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"The 'original sin' is that these people were tortured by the CIA and they went to great lengths to keep that completely hidden from public view," Wright says.
He said there were more restrictions on defense teams, including charges of hiding listening devices as smoke detectors in lawyer and client conference rooms.
"So not only do you have a statutory scheme, but in practice you have a very large effort to ensure that no information about torture is made public," he says.
"The U.S. government is trying to call this a fair trial, by stacking the verdict against the defense and the accused, which cannot be called a fair trial in any world system," he said.
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The biggest strategic implications for the government, he said, were the authorization for the rest of the world to use torture and "establish secret military tribunals without public review and without due process of law."
"Let's put aside our constitutional principles - we must protect whoever the accused is - the constitution has been seriously undermined in this process," he said. It is a particular case where the US has now shown terrible leadership when it comes to upholding basic, basic human rights and due process guarantees.
Wright doesn't care what happens in the trial; The government will probably not release the accused even if they are acquitted. He compared it to the Nuremberg trials after World War II, when the chief prosecutor promised that Nazi war criminals would go free if they were found not guilty.
"We have a system where a person is released, he is not released," he says. "This is really the definition of the pilot scene."
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Earlier this year, the Army ordered Wright to leave the staff so he could take the graduate school needed to be promoted from captain to major. The course may be extended for various reasons; Wright was delayed once. But his recent request for an extension was rejected without explanation.
"So I only had two options," he says. "I can take my part and voluntarily leave the situation and my duty to my client, or I can refuse the orders."
He decided it would be unethical to abandon the client voluntarily and refused the order. "And when you refuse the orders, you must stop
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