A Navy Lieutenant Junior Grade faced allegations of making false official statements, violating Article 107 of the UCMJ, and substandard performance of duty, prompting a year-long Navy investigation. The investigation’s findings led his command to seek his separation from the Navy with an Other Than Honorable Discharge. Initially, the Lieutenant was not eligible for a Board of Inquiry due to his probationary officer status. However, following complaints to the Department of the Navy IG regarding the investigation’s handling, he was granted a Board of Inquiry.
Tim Bilecki represented the Lieutenant at the Board of Inquiry. Tim challenged both the proof of the alleged false statements and the investigation’s handling of the performance allegations. The command had spent a year investigating, but the length of the inquiry did not resolve the weaknesses in its evidence. Tim brought those weaknesses and the procedural flaws before the officers deciding whether his client should remain in the Navy. The Board of Inquiry unanimously found no basis for separation, allowing the Lieutenant to continue his service in the Navy.
Many months later, during a subsequent trip to Japan, Mr. Bilecki ran into his client, who was still proudly serving in the Navy. We could see the stress had been lifted, and our client was in amazing spirits and advancing in his career. It is interactions like this that make all the long hours and tough litigation worth it.
See our Pearl Harbor court martial defense page and our Hawaii military defense lawyer page.
Prior results do not predict future outcomes.