Military Drug Crime Cases – Military Defense Lawyer (UCMJ Article 112a)

Military allegations of unlawful use, possession, distribution, manufacture, introduction, etc. of illegal drugs can have devastating legal, professional, personal and family consequences.

Civilian court-martial defense attorney Richard V. Stevens has extensive experience representing and defending military members accused of drug offenses. He has been handling military cases since 1995. As a former active duty JAG lawyer, Richard V. Stevens has defended numerous different alleged drug crime scenarios over the past three decades of his legal practice. Drug cases are, in fact, one of the most common type of military case he handles either in court-martial trials, discharge board or separation board hearings, Article 15 (nonjudicial punishment, NJP) presentations, and other military adverse actions.

Under the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice), drug allegations are charged under UCMJ Article 112a. Some of the allegations under UCMJ Article 112a that Attorney Stevens has defended against include:

• Wrongful use of a controlled substance
• Wrongful possession of a controlled substance
• Wrongful manufacture of a controlled substance
• Wrongful distribution of a controlled substance
• Wrongful import or export of a controlled substance
• Wrongful introduction of a controlled substance onto a military installation, vessel, vehicle or aircraft
• Conspiracy to commit one of the above

Some of the different scenarios involved in the many military drug cases Attorney Richard V. Stevens has handled over the years have included:

• Random urinalysis positive results
• Unit sweeps and inspections urinalysis results
• Probable cause and command-directed urinalysis results
• Bickel urinalysis positive results
• Undercover drug sting operations using confidential informants (CI)
• Individuals claiming they are eyewitnesses who observed the drug use or drug involvement
• Impaired providers taking medications from the hospital (medical clinic) or patients
• Self medication for combat trauma, PTSD, TBI
• Steroid use for bulking up or for musculoskeletal benefits
• Drug distributions for personal use or as a criminal business

Some of the drugs involved in the many military drug cases Attorney Richard V. Stevens has handled over the years have included:

• Marijuana (Cannabis, THC)
• Designer drugs and synthetic cannabinoids (Delta-8, Delta-9, Delta-10, CBD)
• “Spice” (Salvia and variety of herbal and synthetic marijuana/cannabinoids)
• Cocaine (Crack and a variety of other forms)
• Amphetamine
• Methamphetamine
• “Go Pills”
• Heroin
• Fentanyl (and other related opioids and opiates)
• MDMA (Ecstasy, Molly)
• LSD
• Prescription medications
• Anabolic steroids
• GHB (“date rape drug”)
• Krokodil
• Oxycontin
• Hydrocodone (Vicodin)
• Oxycodone
• Hydromorphone (Dilaudid)
• Adderall
• Xanax
• “Huffing” (inhalants)
• Synthetic drugs and “rave drugs”

These cases can be very serious, and jeopardize a military member’s career, life and future. The defense in these military drug crime cases often requires the assistance of a forensic toxicologist or other experts, and involvement of forensic drug testing laboratories. The defense of these cases can include attacking the lab testing methods and procedures. Not only is Attorney Richard V. Stevens very experienced with lab attack defenses, but also unknowing and knowing innocent ingestion defenses.

Civilian court-martial defense lawyers Richard V. Stevens and Frank J. Spinner routinely defend against these military cases. This experience involves knowing how to successfully use the services of the appropriate expert consultants and witnesses and understanding and strategically applying the results of field or lab drug testing (urine, blood, bodily fluids, screening and presumptive testing, confirmation testing, GC/MS testing, forensic laboratory “litigation packages”). Defending these cases can also often involve attacking the credibility of accusers, alleged co-actors, confidential informants and sources.

Handling these cases requires the expertise of a skilled military defense lawyer. Not only can these cases be complicated, but the accused military members also face extreme jeopardy – possible federal criminal drug conviction, lengthy jail terms, dishonorable discharge or dismissal and a variety of other legal, professional, personal, and family consequences.

Please see the following examples of military drug cases that were successfully defended by military defense lawyer Richard V. Stevens:

Example Drug Case #1 and Example Drug Case #2 and Example Drug Case #3

An experienced and aggressive defense attorney is absolutely vital in these military cases.

No attorney can guarantee the outcome you seek in your military case. What we can promise is that we will apply our decades of experience to the defense of your military case. This includes our extensive experience in military law, military regulations, military investigations, military disciplinary actions, military adverse actions, and/or military court-martial trials and cases.

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Attorney Richard V. Stevens is a civilian criminal defense attorney and former military JAG lawyer who exclusively practices military law and defends military members stationed around the world who are facing military trials, discipline and investigations. If you’re facing allegations of illegal drug use, possession, distribution, etc. in the military, don’t hesitate to seek the legal help you’re going to need. For a free initial case consultation with our experienced military defense attorney, please contact us.