End of Year Wrap-Up and Welcome to 2020

Another year has come to an end, and it was another gratifying year of defending those who defend us! This has been our busiest year to date, and we want to sincerely thank our clients for allowing us the privilege of representing them and their families. Thank you all so much for your service and your sacrifice!

As former active duty military defense JAG lawyers, and now as civilian court-martial defense attorneys, we strive to help military members and their families during very difficult times. Therefore, we measure the term “success” by how well we were able to help our clients and their families with outcomes that positively resolved the military cases, allegations, adverse actions and investigations they faced – not by our financial bottom line.

Looking back on 2019, it was marked by positive outcomes and grateful clients – from court-martial trials dropped and won to successful appeals and responses to other military adverse actions and discipline. These outcomes are extremely gratifying for us. Some of the successes from this past year have been documented in our blog (when we have time to post updates). If you are in need of a skilled court martial appeals lawyer to navigate the complexities of military legal matters, we are here to help.

This past year, I defended, represented, advised, counseled or otherwise assisted clients and/or handled cases out of:

– Peterson AFB (Colorado Springs, CO)
– NORTHCOM, Peterson AFB
– U.S. Air Force Academy (Colorado Springs, CO)
– Lakenheath AB (England)
– Joint Base Andrews (Washington DC, National Capital Region)
– Tinker AFB (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
– Air Force Sustainment Command, Tinker AFB
– Tyndall AFB (Panama City, Florida)
– Ramstein AB (Germany)
– Travis AFB (California)
– Joint Base San Antonio, Lackland AFB (San Antonio, Texas)
– Kirtland AFB (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
– Little Rock AFB (Little Rock, Arkansas)
– Joint Base San Antonio, Randolph AFB (San Antonio, Texas)
– Eglin AFB, Duke Field (Florida)
– Hurlburt Field (Mary Esther, Florida)
– Nellis AFB (Las Vegas, Nevada)
– USAFCENT, Middle East
– USCENTCOM, MacDill AFB (Tampa, Florida)

– Fort Sam Houston (San Antonio, Texas)
– Fort Bragg (Fayetteville, North Carolina)
– Fort Drum (New York)
– Fort Buchanan (Puerto Rico)
– USAG Yongsan (Korea)
– Fort Irwin (California)
– U.S. Army, 21st Sustainment Command (Kaiserslautern, Germany)

– Naval Base San Diego (San Diego, California)
– Naval Support Activity Bahrain

Some of the cases, allegations and military law issues I handled this past year included:

– Rape, Sexual Assault, Sexual Misconduct (UCMJ Article 120)
– Attempt to Kill an Unborn Child (UCMJ Article 119A)
– Larceny, Wrongful Appropriation, BAH Fraud, PCS Fraud, Travel Voucher Fraud (UCMJ Article 121)
– Insubordination, Failure to Obey Lawful Orders, & Dereliction of Duty (UCMJ Articles 91 & 92)
– Drug Offenses: Wrongful Use, Possession, Introduction, Distribution of Controlled Substances (UCMJ Article 112a)
– Physical Assault and Assault Consummated by Battery (UCMJ Article 128)
– Child Abuse
– False Official Statement (UCMJ Article 107)
– Intent to Unlawfully Gain Advantage (Blackmail, UCMJ Article 127)
– Conduct Unbecoming an Officer and Gentleman (UCMJ Article 133)
– Joint Federal Travel Regulation (JFTR) Fraud
– UCMJ Article 134 offenses including:
– Adultery
– Fraternization
– Sexual Harassment
– Receipt, possession and/or distribution of child pornography
– Obstruction of Justice
– Wrongfully communicating a threat
– Wrongfully posting sexual pictures online

Some of the adverse actions I have defended against this past year have included:

– Court-martial trials and court-martial clemency (general court-martial and special court-martial)
– Administrative discharge boards, administrative separation boards
– Officer Elimination Actions, Board of Inquiry (BOI)
– Senior Officer Investigations and Discipline
– Officer Grade Determination (OGD)
– Article 15, Nonjudicial Punishment (NJP)
– Performance report appeals (OER, NCOER, OPR, EPR)
– Board for Corrections of Military Records (BCMR) appeals in different military branches
– Discharge Review Board (DRB) appeals in different military branches
– Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) and Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) cases in different military branches
– Medical De-Credentialing, Privileging Actions
– Flying Evaluation Boards (FEB)
– Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests
– Military Academy discipline, disenrollment, boards, and appeals

To review case summaries from many of the cases I mention above, please review my past blog posts.

We are very thankful for the successful outcomes we have been able to secure for our clients this past year.However, we always warn, while the military court-martial trials and other military cases described in our blog posts were successfully defended against, it is important to understand that every case has different facts, evidence, and participants, and success in previous military courts-martial and military cases does not guarantee success in any particular future court-martial or military case. No military lawyer or civilian defense lawyer, including those who specialize in military law, can guarantee the outcome of any military case or military trial.

Given the potential consequences to military careers, families and personal freedom when facing military discipline, adverse action and/or court-martial trial, it is critical to be defended by a lawyer with experience in military law. For those seeking assistance, we offer free initial case consultations.