Court Martial Lawyer | Military Attorney 706-821-2222

Court martial looms for S.Lanka’s defeated candidate

(AFP)

COLOMBO — Defeated Sri Lankan presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka could be hauled before a court martial to answer charges of plotting a coup to topple the government, a press report said Sunday.
The government has sought legal advice on using a military court to fast-track proceedings against Fonseka, who challenged President Mahinda Rajapakse in the January 26 vote, the Sunday Times said.
“A military court will try retired general Sarath Fonseka on several charges of conspiracy,” it said.
There was no immediate comment from Fonseka, who has already accused the government of planning to arrest or assassinate him after he fell out with Rajapakse and resigned in November.
Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said he was unaware of plans to bring Fonseka before a court martial, but added that a senior defence official had publicly spoken of the possibility.
Fonseka led troops to a crushing victory over Tamil Tiger rebels in May last year, ending a decades-long separatist campaign by the guerrillas.
However, he and Rajapakse were at loggerheads over sharing credit for the spectacular military success and then went head to head at the ballot box last month.
Fonseka, who was routed by Rajapakse, has vowed to challenge Rajapakse’s election at the Supreme Court.
Earlier this month, Rajapakse sacked a dozen senior military officers whom the defence ministry said were a “direct threat to national security.”
Security forces kept Fonseka under siege while election results were being announced the day after the election, and 36 retired officers working at Fonseka’s offices were later arrested by police.
Fonseka said the government targeted his office to prevent his party from collecting evidence to mount the legal challenge to Rajapakse’s re-election.
The government insisted the election was free and fair but the United States and the European Commission have pressed for a probe into the charges of vote fraud.
Copyright © 2010 AFP.—————–
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, San Diego, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fort Bragg, Fort Jackson, Fort Stewart, Fort Gordon, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States.

Hearing scheduled for accused Fort Hood shooter
2/8/2010 5:48 PM
By: News 8 Austin Staff
The military is moving forward with a court martial against accused Fort Hood shooter Major Nidal Hasan.

An Article 32 hearing is scheduled to begin March 1. It’s similar to a civilian grand jury.

A special investigator will give a recommendation on moving forward based on the evidence presented. The army appointed Colonel James Pohl as the investigating officer.

Hasan is charged with 13 counts of murder and 32 counts of attempted murder.

His lawyer has said that Hasan may plead not guilty by reason of insanity.

—————–
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, San Diego, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fort Bragg, Fort Jackson, Fort Stewart, Fort Gordon, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States.

India’s army orders the court martial of a top general

Gen Kapoor ordered the court martial on Friday
India’s army has ordered the court martial of one of its most senior army officers over his alleged involvement in an illegal land deal, officials say.
Lt Gen Avadesh Prakash is the highest ranking officer ever to face a court martial in India.
He holds the rank of military secretary and is one of eight key advisers to India’s army chief Gen Deepak Kapoor.
If convicted, he could face a prison term and he could also lose his military rank and pension.
Earlier in the week, Defence Minister AK Antony called for stern action against Lt Gen Prakash who is set to retire from military duties on Sunday, officials said.
“The trial will begin after the army names the judges for the general court martial of Lt Gen Prakash,” news agency AFP quoted an unnamed senior defence ministry official as saying.
According to reports, Lt Gen Prakash was among four senior officers who allegedly gave approval for a builder to acquire military land near an army base at a significantly reduced price.
An army inquiry has already indicted him for using his position to help the builder in Siliguri in West Bengal.—————–
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, San Diego, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fort Bragg, Fort Jackson, Fort Stewart, Fort Gordon, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States.

War crime court martial: Australia asks Britain to review 100-year-old court martial

(AFP) – 1 day ago

SYDNEY — Australia has sent Britain a petition calling for posthumous pardons for two soldiers court-martialled and executed more than 100 years ago in South Africa, a government spokesman said Wednesday.
The petition asks Britain to review the trials of lieutenants Harry ‘Breaker’ Morant and Peter Handcock who were found guilty of the murder of 12 prisoners of war in the dying days of the Boer war.
Attorney-General Robert McClelland sent the petition, from military lawyer Commander James Unkles, to Secretary of State for Defence last week.
“We don’t express a view either way on it,” McClelland’s spokesman said.
“We sent it because we don’t have any jurisdiction to issue a pardon or review a case that was made by a foreign government in a foreign country.”
Unkles said there were strong grounds for overturning the 1902 verdict against Morant, Handcock and their co-accused George Witton, who had his death sentence commuted, because it contained serious errors.
“The passing of time and the fact that Morant, Handcock and Witton are deceased does not diminish the errors and these injustices must be addressed,” Unkles said in a statement.
“The issue is not whether Morant and Handcock shot Boer prisoners, which they admitted to, but whether they were properly represented and Military Law properly and evenly applied.”
The petition argues the accused were denied the right to communicate with the Australian government or relatives after their arrest and during their trials and were refused an opportunity to prepare their cases.
“During the trial they were denied an opportunity to have their defence of obedience to superior orders tested in court as Lord Kitchener, the British military Commander-in-Chief — who allegedly issued orders to the accused to shoot Boer prisoners — declined to appear despite being called,” Unkles said.
Morant, who volunteered to fight with the British in South Africa, was born in England but became well known in Australia as a poet and a horsebreaker.
Scottish-born writer Nick Bleszynski, who researched the case for his book ‘Shoot Straight, You Bastards!’ and helped write the petition, said a pardon for Morant was overdue.
“People have always said, ‘Oh, yeah, The Breaker, he didn’t get justice’,” he told AFP.
“And what we’re saying is, it is true. The fact that he was dudded (cheated) by the Poms isn’t just a grand old legend, it’s actually going to become fact.”
The story was made into an internationally released movie “Breaker Morant” starring the late Edward Woodward.

—————–
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, San Diego, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fort Bragg, Fort Jackson, Fort Stewart, Fort Gordon, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States.

Court martial of top General

Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor, who was directed by Defence Minister A.K. Antony to court-martial a top general in the Sukna land scam, on Thursday defended his earlier decision of a lighter administrative action against him.

“It will not be wise to assume that the action was taken in isolation. I have to be fair, just and also look into the culpability of each individual officer. I can’t put all of them in the same bracket,” he told Karan Thapar in CNN-IBN’s Devil’s Advocate programme

(The scam involves the sale of a 71-acre land adjacent to the Sukna military station in West Bengal for which the Army had issued a No Objection Certificate to a private realtor.)

He was asked if he was soft on his close aide and former Military Secretary Lt. Gen. Avadesh Prakash while he had ordered court-martial for Lt. Gen. P.K. Rath, another top official who was indicted in the Sukna case.

Gen. Kapoor said the former Military Secretary was only one of the Principal Staff Officers among the eight he had. “One PSO is as dear or far away from me as the other,” he said.

In the wake of his decision to order administrative action against Lt. Gen. Prakash, the Defence Minister asked him to initiate disciplinary action, that led to the launching of court martial proceedings against him.

Meanwhile, Lt. Gen. P.K. Rath, who has been indicted along with Lt. Gen. Avadesh Prakash in the case, has moved the Delhi High Court against his court-martial order.

He has also challenged the government’s decision to scrap his appointment as Deputy Chief of the Army Staff.—————–
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, San Diego, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fort Bragg, Fort Jackson, Fort Stewart, Fort Gordon, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States.

Fort Stewart Court Martial Lawyer Army discharges single mom who wouldn’t deploy

Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer

Thursday, February 11, 2010

A single mother from Oakland has been discharged from the Army for refusing to leave her infant son behind to go to Afghanistan, but she will not be court-martialed, her attorney said Thursday.

Alexis Hutchinson, 21, had faced criminal charges at a court-martial for refusing to accompany her unit when it deployed in November. Although that is no longer a prospect, Hutchinson has been demoted from specialist to private and will lose all military and veteran benefits, said her attorney, Rae Sue Sussman of San Francisco.

She said Hutchinson had been given an other-than-honorable discharge.

In a statement, Hutchinson said she was “excited to know what will happen to me, and that I am not facing jail. This means I can still be with my son, which is the most important thing.”

Hutchinson enlisted in the Army in 2007 straight out of Fremont High School in East Oakland. She was supposed to deploy overseas as a cook with her unit, the 3rd Infantry Division, on Nov. 5. She skipped the flight, she contended, because she had nobody to take care of her then-10-month-old son, Kamani.

Hutchinson told her commanding officers she had arranged for her mother to watch Kamani while she was away for her one-year tour of duty, but when that fell through at the last minute, she could find no alternative.

In January, the Army charged her with four court-martial counts. She could have spent up to two years behind bars had she been convicted of being absent without leave, missing a movement, dereliction of duty and insubordinate conduct toward a noncommissioned officer.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/11/BAHD1C07EM.DTL#ixzz0fHNwy7ow

—————–
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, San Diego, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fort Bragg, Fort Jackson, Fort Stewart, Fort Gordon, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States.

No Court Martial – Army boots single mom who refused to deploy

By Alexis Hutchinson, AP

The Army says it will discharge but not court-martial a single-mother soldier who did not deploy to Afghanistan because she has no family to care for her infant son.

Spc. Alexis Hutchinson, a 21-year-old Army cook from Oakland, was stationed at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Ga. She missed her unit’s flight to Afghanistan in November and was arrested. The Army filed criminal charges last month, but a general at neighboring Fort Stewart decided instead to settle the case administratively. Hutchinson was given an other-than-honorable discharge, demoted to private and stripped of military and veterans benefits.

In a statement, Hutchinson said she was “excited to know what will happen to me, and that I am not facing jail. This means I can still be with my son, which is the most important thing.”—————–
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, San Diego, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fort Bragg, Fort Jackson, Fort Stewart, Fort Gordon, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States.

Rights criticizes Sri Lanka court-martial of defeated opposition candidate
by Haley Wojdowski at 12:19 PM ET

[JURIST] The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) [official website] on Thursday criticized [press release] Sri Lanka’s plans to court-martial defeated opposition presidential candidate and former general Sarath Fonseka [BBC profile]. The Sri Lankan Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) announced [press release] Monday that Fonseka was arrested [JURIST report] “in connection with certain fraudulent acts and other military offences.” According to AHRC:

The case is being pursued in military courts, thus avoiding the country’s ordinary courts and depriving him of due process. This is also depriving the public of information on his case. … The overall situation created under these circumstances is one of intimidation and political tension. The Secretary General of the United Nations has made a request to avoid further tensions in the country. However, there does not seem to be any positive response on the part of the government to this request.

AHRC called for the “due process of law [to] prevail” and for “the authority of the country’s ordinary courts [to] be preserved.”

On Tuesday, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa [official website, in Sinhala] dissolved [JURIST report] Parliament [official website] and called for early parliamentary elections. It is believed that Rajapaksa is trying to harness momentum from the presidential election in January, in which he was re-elected, to gain more seats in parliament for his political party, Freedom Alliance. Last week, 37 people, most of them military officers, were arrested in connection to an alleged assassination attempt against Rajapaksa. The Sri Lankan Supreme Court ruled last week that Rajapaksa’s second term [JURIST report] will begin in November. The apparent victor in January’s elections, Rajapaksa defeated Fonseka by an official margin of 18 points, winning re-election to a second term in office. Fonseka has disputed [Al Jazeera report] the results, saying violence and vote-counting irregularities invalidated the outcome.—————–
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, San Diego, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fort Bragg, Fort Jackson, Fort Stewart, Fort Gordon, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States.

Court Martial Lawyers Battle over constitutionality of a court martial

Judge rejects constitutional challenge to court martial of Canadian soldier

BY JULIET O’NEILL, CANWEST NEWS SERVICEFEBRUARY 10, 2010 11:27 AM
Posted at http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Judge+rejects+constitutional+challenge+court+martial+Canadian+soldier/2545635/story.html

GATINEAU, Que. — A military judge on Wednesday dismissed a constitutional challenge to the jury selection process in the court martial of Capt. Robert Semrau, the first Canadian soldier charged with murder for an alleged battlefield killing.

Court was adjourned to Monday, Feb. 15, giving prosecution and defence lawyers time to try to come to an agreement on whether the trial should be moved to the Canadian Forces base in Afghanistan, closer to the location of the alleged crime, or to CFB Petawawa, the Ontario community where the 36-year-old captain serves in the 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment. If the lawyers cannot agree, they will present their arguments to judge Mario Dutil Monday and he will decide.

It is alleged Semrau fired two shots into a “severely wounded” disarmed Taliban insurgent on Oct. 19, 2008, after a battle in Afghanistan’s Helmand province. He is alleged to have violated the military code of conduct by failing to collect a wounded person from the battlefield.

He is charged with second-degree murder, as well as attempted murder, behaving in a disgraceful manner, and negligently performing a military duty. The penalty for second-degree murder is life imprisonment.

Dutil ruled that the process for choosing a panel (the military version of a jury) may be relevant for military law reform, but “does not violate” the constitutional guarantee for accused persons in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to a fair hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal.

Semrau’s lawyer, Maj. Steve Turner, had argued that Semrau’s rights are violated because the pool of military personnel eligible for panel duty is not representative of a cross-section of the Canadian Forces. The pool excludes some reservists, officers below the rank of captain and non-commissioned members below the rank of warrant officer.

“Certain groups of people who may be very experienced, say a sergeant with 25 years, is not even eligible to serve in any circumstances,” he said in an interview. “We see lower rank members, corporals with four years experience, who are expected to make monumental decisions out in the field who might be kilometres away from the nearest officer. . . . The notion that a corporal or sergeant could never serve on a panel, just doesn’t make sense.”

The judge cited four previous recent rulings that rejected the argument that restrictions on panel eligibility is a charter violation.

“A court martial panel is not the same as a jury,” prosecution lawyer Maj. Tony Tamburro told reporters after the ruling.

Impartiality and random selection applies, but representative membership does not.

—————–
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, San Diego, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fort Bragg, Fort Jackson, Fort Stewart, Fort Gordon, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States.

Court Martial News: Lt Gen Prakash too suffers hearing problem; Court Martial soon

February 1, 2010 23:58 IST

New Delhi: Lt Gen Avadesh Prakash, who retired as military secretary on Sunday, is likely to be attached to an Army Command’s headquarters soon for court martial proceedings in the Sukna land scam, even as there were reports that he suffered partial hearing impairment in service for which he would take home 20% more pension.

Incidentally, Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor too suffered partial hearing impairment on his left ear after a visit to the US and attending a fire power demonstration by artillery guns in July last, but wrote to defence minister AK Antony against the 20% additional pension after media reports in this regard.

Army sources said here that the attachment would happen soon, though summary of evidence and the court martial thereafter would take another couple of months to commence.

Gen Kapoor had ordered disciplinary action leading to a court martial against Prakash for influencing the No Objection Certificate to a private realtor, who falsely claimed that he would start an educational institution affiliated to the Ajmer-based Mayo College, to buy a 71-acre land adjacent to Sukna military station.

The order came after Antony overturned Kapoor’s decision to initiate administrative action against Prakash and advised him to take disciplinary action.

Prakash is a close aide of the army chief on account of being the principal staff officer in charge of postings, promotions and transfers.

Army sources said three weeks before Kapoor himself was certified as partially disabled due to hearing problems, Prakash too was classified under partially disabled personnel and would be entitled to the 20 per cent hike in his pension.

The then military secretary too was placed in the ‘H2′ low hearing medical category. Army officers are expected to be in SHAPE1 (meaning top grade in psychological, hearing, appendages, physical and eyes) fitness levels.

—————–
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, San Diego, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fort Bragg, Fort Jackson, Fort Stewart, Fort Gordon, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States.