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Court Martial Lawyer – 2 Major-Generals face corruption charges

TNN

NEW DELHI: In yet indicator of the declining standards of probity and discipline in the armed forces, two Major-Generals from the Army Ordnance Corps (AOC) are now in the dock for their alleged acts of commission and omission. Both the Maj-Gens are facing courts of inquiry (CoI), which will establish whether there is enough prima facie evidence to try them through court martial, in separate cases. The first, Maj-Gen Anand Swaroop, officiating commandant of College of Materials Management (Jabalpur), is facing charges of irregularities in purchase of items for a unit headed for a UN peace-keeping mission. The second, Maj-Gen S P Sinha, ordnance chief at the Western Army Command at Chandimandir, in turn, is accused of irregularities in purchase of general stores for ordnance depot at Choeki. Both officers, on their part, have refuted the charges against them. This comes after the case of yet another senior AOC officer, Maj-Gen A K Kapur, who is facing a CBI probe after raids led to the discovery of property worth around Rs 5.3 crore in his or his family’s name in late-2007. The CBI, however, is yet to file a chargesheet in the case. With the three seniormost AOC officers facing corruption charges, even if they have not been proved so far, the post of director-general of ordnance services at the Army HQ continues to remain vacant. Both AOC and Army Service Corps (ASC) have been embroiled in such controversies in recent years, with senior officers jostling for top posts, often levelling accusations against each other. The ASC, for instance, witnessed a bout of controversy some time ago with two Lt-Gens, S K Sahni and S K Dahiya, also having to face legal proceedings. The names of Sahni, Dahiya, four Maj-Gens, nine Brigadiers, a Navy Commodore, two Commanders, a Lt-Commander, an IAF Group Captain and a Coast Guard DIG had figured in a list of 21 senior officers facing corruption charges tabled by defence minister A K Antony in Parliament. The corruption charges ranged from selling military liquor in civilian markets to financial bungling in purchase of cereals, petrol and the like in the armed forces. A Maj-Gen had faced the music for even sexual harassment last year. The court martial against Maj-Gen A K Lal, who was removed as commander of the strategically-located 3 Infantry Division at Leh in September 2007 after a woman officer accused him of “misconduct” and “misbehaviour”, held that he should be dismissed from service. Many of these officers, including Maj-Gen Lal, however, have appealed in high courts against the court martial verdicts against them.

Michael Waddington is a court martial lawyer – court martial attorney that defends military personnel worldwide as well as deployed civilian contractors subject to the UCMJ. He defends Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and civilian contractor court martial cases. He has successfully defended military personnel as a court martial lawyer Army Navy Marine & Air Force court martials in Germany, England, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States. military-defense-lawyer-recentcases.htm.

Court Martial Attorney – Airman facing court-martial for gun incident

By Franklin Fisher – Stars and StripesPacific edition

OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea — Officials filed criminal charges Thursday against the Air Force police officer who allegedly left Osan Air Base with a loaded handgun last month.

Airman 1st Class Charles T. Walker of the 51st Security Forces Squadron will face court martial at a date still to be set, said Air Force Master Sgt. Paul A. Kilgallon, a spokesman for Osan’s 51st Fighter Wing.

Walker allegedly drew and fired the weapon while inside an off-base residence, prosecutors said Thursday. They did not disclose whose house it was but said those details would be presented at the trial, Kilgallon said.

There were no injuries in the incident that led police to set up roadblocks in the Pyeongtaek area while Walker was at large.

The Air Force has said Walker checked out a 9 mm handgun from his unit’s armory and left base with two 15-round magazines sometime between 10 and 11 p.m. Jan. 30.

At one point, he phoned his wife, who phoned her husband’s squadron and said he was off base, officials have said.

His squadron’s crisis negotiation team made phone contact with Walker and persuaded him to return to base.

He spent part of the night at his mother’s home in Pyeongtaek, officials have said.

Walker is charged with wrongful appropriation, failure to obey a lawful order or regulation, willful discharge of a weapon, and carrying a concealed weapon. He has been in pretrial confinement at the Eighth U.S. Army Confinement Facility since early this month.

Michael Waddington is a court martial lawyer – court martial attorney that defends military personnel worldwide as well as deployed civilian contractors subject to the UCMJ. He defends Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and civilian contractor court martial cases. He has successfully defended military personnel as a court martial lawyer Army Navy Marine & Air Force court martials in Germany, England, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States. military-defense-lawyer-recentcases.htm.

Court Martial Lawyer – Ft. Stewart soldier charged with fleeing to Canada

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Authorities say a soldier who fled to Canada from an Army post in

Georgia to avoid the Iraq war has been charged with desertion.

A Fort Stewart spokesman said Thursday that Spc. Cliff Cornell, 29, will face an investigation to determine whether his case should be handled as an administrative matter or a court martial.
Cornell’s lawyer, James Branum, says he will press for leniency. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Authorities say the soldier from Mountain Home, Ark., abandoned his Army unit at Fort Stewart in 2005 and went to British Columbia.

Cornell returned to the Army two weeks ago after the Canadian government denied him asylum as a war objector. He turned himself in Feb. 10 at Fort Stewart.

Michael Waddington is a court martial lawyer – court martial attorney that defends military personnel worldwide as well as deployed civilian contractors subject to the UCMJ. He defends Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and civilian contractor court martial cases. He has successfully defended military personnel as a court martial lawyer Army Navy Marine & Air Force court martials in Germany, England, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States. military-defense-lawyer-recentcases.htm.

Court Martial Lawyer – US Soldier convicted in beating death

BERLIN (AP) — A U.S. soldier has been found guilty of participating in gang initiation rituals that caused the beating death of another soldier near a base in Germany.

Pvt. Bobby D. Morrissette was also convicted on charges of impeding an investigation, impeding a trial by court martial and willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer, the military said in a statement Thursday. He was sentenced to 42 months in confinement and a bad conduct discharge.

The charges relate to the beating death of Sgt. Juwan Johnson, of Baltimore, on July 4, 2005, at a park pavilion in Kaiserslautern, where U.S. forces have a base.

The Army released no further details on the incident, but at the trial of others involved in the case witnesses testified that at least six members of the Gangster Disciples gang beat Johnson during a gang initiation ritual.

Johnson’s mother, Stephanie Cockrell, told The Associated Press in 2005 that she had spoken to her son the day before his death and he told her he was coming home in two weeks after completing an 18-month tour of duty in Iraq.

“I slept a little easier knowing he was out of Iraq and coming home soon,” she said at the time.
Morrissette is assigned to the 1st Cargo Transfer Company, 18th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, in Grafenwoehr, Germany.

He was also found guilty of committing an indecent act on a female in the presence of another person and wrongful use of a controlled substance, both stemming from separate incidents.

A representative for the U.S. military could not be reached for comment.

Michael Waddington is a court martial lawyer – court martial attorney that defends military personnel worldwide as well as deployed civilian contractors subject to the UCMJ. He defends Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and civilian contractor court martial cases. He has successfully defended military personnel as a court martial lawyer Army Navy Marine & Air Force court martials in Germany, England, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States. military-defense-lawyer-recentcases.htm.

Court Martial Attorney – Army officer stripped of rank

HANK SCHOUTEN – The Dominion Post

A high-flying army officer, who has been stripped of his rank for indecently assaulting a female officer, may now face trial on another charge.

Allan David Kinsella, 37, was reduced in rank from lieutenant colonel to major and severely reprimanded by a court martial at Trentham military base yesterday.

His pay will be cut from about $120,000 to $90,000 a year following his loss of rank.
He could also face another court martial. The military is considering whether to proceed on another complaint but has not yet formally laid charges.

Kinsella was sentenced after a four-day military trial found him guilty of indecent assault but not guilty of disgraceful and indecent behaviour.

The charges date back to March 2007 when Kinsella was a chief tactics instructor at the Waiouru army base. The female officer, who was engaged to a close friend of Kinsella, was attending a course at the base.

She gave evidence that after drinking together in the Waiouru officers’ mess, Kinsella came into her room uninvited as she prepared to go to bed, made advances to her, attempted to kiss her and exposed himself after she fended him off. Kinsella then told her: “No one needs to know, get into bed. I’ll do the work and you’ll enjoy it.”

Kinsella said the woman invited him to her room for sex and they kissed before she changed her mind. He denied exposing himself in front of her.

Colonel Rob Hitchings, who presided over the five-member court martial board, said Kinsella’s actions were a grave breach of trust and showed a significant lack of judgment.

The board acknowledged his impeccable service career but said his conduct was unacceptable.
Kinsella’s army career was described as being studded with outstanding achievements. Since signing up in 1990 he had served in Sierra Leone and East Timor, and four years ago was selected as distinguished master strategist at the US Army’s Command and Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, ahead of nearly 1000 American officers and 100 from other countries.

He was nominated as the 2005-06 young executive of the year and had been considered as a likely candidate for command of the army’s artillery regiment.

Prosecutor Craig Ruane said the offence was aggravated by the disparity in ranks between Kinsella and his victim, the breach of the instructor-student relationship and the fact she was engaged to a fellow officer on operations overseas at the time.

Defence lawyer Tom Gilbert said Kinsella had never denied what he did was morally and ethically wrong. His actions had had a devastating social effect.

He asked the court to show compassion for a man who had served his country, saying the military owed it to Kinsella not to throw him on the trash heap.

MARTIAL LAW

* Allan David Kinsella was tried by court martial on a charge of indecent assault.

* The offence carries a maximum penalty of up to seven years’ imprisonment – also the maximum penalty in a criminal court.

* Unlike in a criminal court, Kinsella is also liable to other penalties ranging from loss of seniority in rank, reduction in rank – meaning less pay – or dismissal from the service.

* If dismissed he would also have lost government contributions to his superannuation, estimated to be more than $700,000 over his lifetime.

Michael Waddington is a court martial lawyer – court martial attorney that defends military personnel worldwide as well as deployed civilian contractors subject to the UCMJ. He defends Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and civilian contractor court martial cases. He has successfully defended military personnel as a court martial lawyer Army Navy Marine & Air Force court martials in Germany, England, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States. military-defense-lawyer-recentcases.htm.

Court Martial Lawyer - Soldier in Bliss Assault Dies in Rehab

Knight Ridder / Tribune

EL PASO, Texas — A Fort Bliss Soldier hit in the head with a baseball bat last year allegedly by another Soldier died while undergoing rehabilitation for his injuries and will be buried today in his hometown, Chicago.

Pvt. Deandrez Robertson, 20, is charged with attacking Pvt. Pernell Robert Flowers II, 22, on July 18 and faces court martial on numerous charges, including attempted murder for the alleged attack, and four counts of assault related to an earlier incident, in which Robertson allegedly threatened a group of people, including Flowers, with a 12-gauge sawed-off shotgun at a northeast El Paso convenience store.

Robertson later escaped from Army custody at Fort Bliss and was captured in Tennessee.
“He was my best friend. He had a heart of gold,” Pernell Flowers Sr. said Tuesday by phone from Chicago about his son. “If you needed something, you wouldn’t have to ask him. He would just give it to you.”

Pernell Flowers Sr. said his son loved cars and “literally fell to his knees” when he saw a high-performance Nissan at an El Paso car dealership.

The younger Flowers served a tour of duty in Korea and “wanted to be in the Army more than anything in his life,” his father said.

Pernell Robert Flowers II had been in the service for five years and came to El Paso when he was assigned to Fort Bliss.

“He was always the most loving child,” the elder Flowers said. During a dinner party at the age of 3, he said, his son put his hands on his hips and declared,
“I have so many somebodies to love.”

Flowers Sr. declined to comment on the incident that injured his son or the court-martial proceedings.

The younger Flowers died on Feb. 17 just as Robertson’s Article 32 hearing, similar to a preliminary hearing in civilian court, began, said Fort Bliss spokeswoman Jean Offutt.
“No new date has been set yet (to continue the hearing) because they’re waiting for the results of the forensic autopsy,” which will determine whether Robertson is charged with murder, Offutt said. Both Soldiers belonged to the post’s 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, she said.

Charges of conspiracy, “absent without leave,” and “resistance, breach of arrest and escape,” were filed against Robertson after he escaped from Army custody on Dec. 10, when he was at Fort Bliss to meet with his lawyer.

He was captured Dec. 16 at a bus stop in Knoxville, Tenn., and was returned to the Otero County Detention Facility in New Mexico, where he is being held.

Fort Bliss officials released few details on the charges against Robertson or on his escape, but the El Paso Times obtained charge sheets outlining some of that information under the Freedom of Information Act. El Paso Police Department officials asked for an opinion from the Texas attorney general before releasing a copy of a police report requested by the Times detailing the shotgun incident.

Robertson allegedly pointed the shotgun at Pernell Flowers II, Robertson’s ex-girlfriend and another man on July 13, according to the police report, five days before the alleged assault. The report indicates that no alcohol was involved and that Robertson was arrested and booked into the county jail.

Robertson allegedly arranged for another Soldier to purchase a wooden bat and batting gloves for use in the slaying attempt, according to Army charge sheets. He had been ordered to stay away from Pernell Flowers II by his commander, according to the documents, and was charged with failure to obey an order.

He is charged with making many threats between July 18 and Aug. 8 to keep his role in the alleged assault a secret. And he is charged with recruiting three Soldiers and a civilian to help him escape, including a Soldier who allegedly bought and delivered the clothing he used.
Robertson also is charged with asking a Soldier involved in the case to provide a false account of the alleged assault to the Army’s Criminal Investigative Command, and asking another Soldier to lie to El Paso police about the alleged shotgun incident.

Michael Waddington is a court martial lawyer – court martial attorney that defends military personnel worldwide as well as deployed civilian contractors subject to the UCMJ. He defends Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and civilian contractor court martial cases. He has successfully defended military personnel as a court martial lawyer Army Navy Marine & Air Force court martials in Germany, England, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States. military-defense-lawyer-recentcases.htm.

Court Martial Attorney – Soldier Ordered to Court Martial for Murder

(Ft. Leonard Wood, MO) — A soldier from Fort Leonard Wood, charged with killing another soldiers wife, is now referred to a court martial – the military version of a criminal trial. Specialist Jermaine Johnson is charged with killing Myria Silva, 23, in October.Silvas body was found in an abandoned house in northern Webster County October 14. A Fort Leonard Wood spokesperson says an arraignment is scheduled for March 5.Johnson will be able to enter a guilty or not guilty plea at that time.

Michael Waddington is a court martial lawyer – court martial attorney that defends military personnel worldwide as well as deployed civilian contractors subject to the UCMJ. He defends Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and civilian contractor court martial cases. He has successfully defended military personnel as a court martial lawyer Army Navy Marine & Air Force court martials in Germany, England, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States. military-defense-lawyer-recentcases.htm.

Court Martial Attorney – Marine charged with setting Camp Pendleton fire

A lance corporal has been charged with setting a fire at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base that burned hundreds of acres and threatened homes in Fallbrook and Oceanside, officials said today.
Lance Cpl. Nason G. Lamb was charged with making a false official statement, damage of military property and three specifications of reckless endangerment in connection with the so-called Juliett 2 fire that struck the base on the afternoon of Oct. 13, 2008.

Details of the allegations were not released, but officials said the fire was started during a land-navigation exercise in the Juliett Training Area. The training did not include live fire or any “fire-producing training aids,” officials said. The Juliett 2 fire struck just half an hour after another fire started about a mile away. Lamb is not charged in that fire.

Officials said the cause of that fire is still undetermined.

An Article 32 hearing, akin to a preliminary hearing in the civilian system, will be held to determine if Lamb should go to a court martial.

The two fires merged and destroyed about 4,000 acres. Homes in Oceanside were saved by aerial air drops.

The on-base home of the commanding officer of the sprawling training center came within yards of burning.

The allegations against Lamb were made by a special court-martial convening authority. A special court-martial carries a maximum one year in the brig and a dishonorable discharge.

Michael Waddington is a court martial lawyer – court martial attorney that defends military personnel worldwide as well as deployed civilian contractors subject to the UCMJ. He defends Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and civilian contractor court martial cases. He has successfully defended military personnel as a court martial lawyer Army Navy Marine & Air Force court martials in Germany, England, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States. military-defense-lawyer-recentcases.htm.

Court Martial Attorney – GI charged with attempted murder unfit to stand trial

By Mark St.Clair – Stars and Stripes, European edition

BAMBERG, Germany — A 527th Military Police Company specialist was found mentally unfit to stand trial last week, ending his court martial almost before it began.

Originally charged with the Dec. 6, 2007, attempted murder of a female soldier near Ansbach by allegedly bashing her head with a helmet, Spc. David T. Chase’s case grew much stranger after he began pretrial confinement in Mannheim.

During the first three months of 2008, Chase was also charged with willfully disobeying a noncommissioned officer and 14 specifications of assaulting his guards with everything from his fists and restraints to spittle, toilet paper, feces and semen.

At the court martial on Wednesday, Chase was disheveled, unkempt, shackled and shuffling through the corridors of Bamberg’s law center under triple guard, many of whom were angered by the competency ruling given by the presiding military judge, Col. Jeffrey R. Nance.

The postponement of Chase’s case — scheduled to run three days — until he receives mental health care to see if he’s competent to stand trial in the future was the only option Nance had, according to lead defense counsel David Court.

“It was the only ruling he could make,” Court said. “A forensic psychologist and forensic psychiatrist both made the same conclusion,” Court said of expert witnesses who agreed Chase was unfit to participate in his own defense.

Because the Army has no pre-trial mental health care facilities, Chase will be sent to the States and his case turned over to the U.S. Attorney General’s office so a location for his hospital time can found, said Court. The mental health care is mandated by the military’s Manual for Courts-Martial.

Chase’s case can now go several ways, including a possible return to Germany for trial in the future if his mental state is ruled to have improved. “It’s up to the government how they want to proceed,” said assistant defense counsel Capt. Clay Compton.

Michael Waddington is a court martial lawyer – court martial attorney that defends military personnel worldwide as well as deployed civilian contractors subject to the UCMJ. He defends Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and civilian contractor court martial cases. He has successfully defended military personnel as a court martial lawyer Army Navy Marine & Air Force court martials in Germany, England, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States. military-defense-lawyer-recentcases.htm.

Court Martial Lawyer – Vladimir Putin faces rising anger from within Russian army

Vladimir Putin is facing an unprecedented military challenge to his authority as discontent over medieval conditions and personnel cuts mounts within the Russian armed forces.

By Adrian Blomfield in Vladivostok

Vladimir Putin is facing an unprecedented military challenge to his authority as discontent over medieval conditions and planned personnel cuts mounts within the Russian armed forces.

A growing number of disgruntled servicemen, including senior officers, are making contact with Russian opposition groups for the first time since he came to power in 2000.

The prospect of losing the unwavering support of the 1.2 million-strong armed forces is causing alarm in the Kremlin at a time when the Russian prime minister is already looking vulnerable.
Simmering public anger over the government’s handling of Russia’s stalling economy has triggered the first ever protests demanding Mr Putin’s resignation.

Revelations of significant unrest in a constituency as symbolically important as the armed forces could give additional impetus to growing popular discontent in Russia.

Military disquiet could become significant in a behind-the-scenes power struggle at the Kremlin, where factional infighting has grown and there is a widening rift between Mr Putin and his one-time protégé, President Dmitry Medvedev.

Resentment within the armed forces is brewing among the oversized commissioned ranks, after the government unveiled plans to trim their numbers by sacking 200,000 officers, including more than 200 generals and 15,000 colonels.

Worryingly for Mr Putin, the officer ranks have powerful supporters in a Kremlin faction dominated by ex-military and intelligence officials.

Fearing a backlash, Mr Putin appears to be seeking to pin the blame for the military reforms on his defence minister, Anatoly Serdyukov. But there are signs that the tactic is not working.

“The days when Putin could escape blame for everything that goes wrong are ending,” one army colonel said. “People are angry with Serdyukov, but they are angry with Putin too.”

For nine years, Mr Putin has enjoyed the unstinting backing of the Russian military, having poured money into the armed forces as a key part of his strategy to restore Russia’s might.

The former KGB officer has nearly quadrupled the defence budget to £22 billion this year and has unveiled plans for an additional £130 billion cash injection over the next decade.

But Mr Putin now faces the prospect of 200,000 embittered ex-officers on the street, who could form a powerful kernel of opposition against him.

Opposition parties say that a number of senior military figures have approached them with tacit messages of support. The feeling of discontent is even deeper in the non-commissioned ranks, who complain of appalling conditions in their barracks.

Doctors were summoned to one unheated navy base earlier this month. Of 1,000 sailors housed in the barracks, 123 were diagnosed with hypothermia, pneumonia and other serious respiratory diseases. At least one died. Such stories are common.

The anger is palpable in the port of Vladivostok, headquarters of Russia’s Pacific Fleet – a city of peeling classical buildings built into low-slung hills that wallows in the nostalgia of its once great naval traditions.

Vladislav, 19, was called up to serve on a submarine stationed off Russia’s eastern seaboard last year and says the conditions were appalling.

“We were brought up to revere Putin, but not any more,” said Vladislav. “He doesn’t care about the fate of ordinary sailors, which makes him a criminal in my opinion.”

He has secretly joined a new opposition group in the Far East called Tiger, which is calling for Mr Putin’s resignation and the restoration of democracy. If discovered, he faces court martial.

Alexander Golts, a leading military analyst, said: “Morale in the navy is very low, particularly in the Pacific fleet. The hazing and acts of cruelty are so unbelievable that a year as a conscript is effectively a year in Hell.”

Michael Waddington is a court martial lawyer – court martial attorney that defends military personnel worldwide as well as deployed civilian contractors subject to the UCMJ. He defends Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and civilian contractor court martial cases. He has successfully defended military personnel as a court martial lawyer Army Navy Marine & Air Force court martials in Germany, England, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States. military-defense-lawyer-recentcases.htm.