These cases can include rape, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, abusive sexual contact, sexual assault of a minor, indecent viewing, indecent recording, forcible pandering, indecent exposure, and other Article 120 and Article 120(c) offenses. This is a big one these days as the military is rightly trying to reconcile its struggle with sexual assault in the past. The only problem is that it’s creating a culture of perception where an allegation is treated as guilt.
Look, if you are innocent of the charge then you need to fight. Victims of sexual assault do not receive justice when the wrong person is prosecuted. If the full story of the encounter is not told and weighed, justice is equally denied. Please don’t let a military Trial Defense Counsel convince you that the honorable thing is to admit guilt and go quietly into the night. No, you must fight and you must press on.
We defend cases such as conspiracy to defraud the military, BAH fraud, OHA fraud, extortion, larceny, wrongful appropriation, and more. Let us ponder this question. If any item of significant value came up missing at the Air Force Academy, do you think they would blame the star cadet or the lowly janitor?
Guilt gets tossed around like a hot potato when it comes to missing gear and we’re here to testify to you that it doesn’t always wind up in the right hands. BAH fraud is another common charge we see where the perception of the military investigator doesn’t match the reality of the full story. Perception shouldn’t end careers.
We represent service members facing charges including murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault, assault, and cases involving self-defense and defense of another. Personally, we can imagine some Air Force cadet talking down to the janitor and Crawford slowly unscrewing the mop handle in order to beat the kid into respect for his elders. Didn’t happen, that’s just our imagination.
The reality is that fights take place in the military. They take place between Soldiers. They take place between military branches and they take place because civilians sometimes can’t keep their mouth’s shut. What seems harmless can get serious real quick when it escalates and a makeshift weapon like a beer bottle or pool cue gets involved. Fights happen, but with the right defense, it doesn’t have to ruin a career or push you out of service. Not when our country has so many large fights looming ahead of us.
We defend cases involving drug possession, drug distribution, drug importation, drug manufacturing, drug trafficking, positive urinalysis cases, tampering with urinalysis cases, and more. These cases often involve illegal controlled substances such as marijuana, LSD, methamphetamines, cocaine, ecstasy, molly, opioids, analogues, and more.
Fort Bliss’ position on the border puts it right front and center in the war on drugs and unfortunately, there isn’t any drug you can’t find in ample supply around the Texas/Mexico border. More often than not, civilians play a large role in getting our good Soldiers caught up in these charges. While the civilians face a slap on the wrist, it’s our good Soldiers at Fort Bliss that have to stand tall before the UCMJ. Again, appearances can be deceiving and there is always more to the story. Fight to get the full story told and considered.
These include charges such as fraternization, unauthorized absence (AWOL), disobeying a lawful order, conduct unbecoming an officer, and much more. Look, we understand the UCMJ has a purpose and when wielded with integrity, it enforces good order and military discipline.
However, when it is not weiled with integrity or consistency, it can put some very good Soldiers up against some very silly charges. Far too many Soldiers think the right thing is to admit guilt and move on. In reality, their best option was to take the fight to the enemy like William Crawford charging up a German infested hill without looking back to see if anyone was with him.