Worldwide military defense
Military Investigations:CID, NCIS and OSI
How to Know If You’re Under Investigation And What To Do
If you are reading this right now, there is a better than average chance that you as a military service member or a military service member you love is under criminal investigation. We don’t have a ton of traffic that comes here for leisurely reading, but if that’s you then go check out our base location pages because they are some top notch reading. Right now, let’s assume you are under investigation and get right to it. Because if you are under investigation by the military justice system then you need to hire a lawyer now. Not later, not when you are charged, not when it’s time for a court martial, but right now. If you don’t hire us, that’s fine, but please hire someone because when you are under investigation by the military, a war you didn’t ask for is coming for your career, retirement, or even your freedom.
How Do I Know If I Am Under Investigation?
Once again, something brought you here and it likely wasn’t a sense of paranoia. If you have been called into any criminal investigative agency like Criminal Investigation Division (CID), Office of Special Investigations (OSI), Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), or others as a suspect, you are under investigation. If you have been read your Article 31(b) rights under the UCMJ, you are being treated as a suspect. If you have been given a military protective order, you may be under investigation. It might even be explicit and beyond a doubt because the military told you that you are under investigation.
What is important for you to know right now if you are under investigation is that military investigators are working this very minute to prove your guilt. In a perfect world, justice would be blind, and the investigators would simply be chasing the truth. However, you know the military justice system is not that perfect world. These military investigators are the type of guys who binge watch every episode of NCIS on a first date and expect a kiss in return. They are obsessed with what they do. They want everyone to know it, and right now, they are obsessed with your guilt and your guilt alone.
What Is Happening While I’m Under Investigation?
The way the military investigative system works is that they start an investigation of an individual as a target. Unfortunately, that target is you right now. That is the important distinction you need to understand. They are not investigating the crime, they are investigating you, looking for proof that you did it. It’s not a case of “who did it”, it’s “we know who did it and how can we prove it.”
A classic example would be a sexual assault case. The victim says you assaulted her in the barracks while she was drunk and proving that true now becomes their mission. They don’t want to know if she actually was drunk or if the two of you had completely consensual sex. They want to prove that she was incapable of consenting because of alcohol and that you knew or reasonably should have known it. It is confirmation bias at its worst and they are going to begin a three ring investigation looking for evidence to that end. It’s not fair to you, the service member, and as long as the military justice system has a body to prosecute, the military investigators consider their job done. Now let’s talk about the three ring investigation process.
- First ring: the crime sceneWhere did it happen? Who were you with?
- Second ring: forensic evidenceAbove all, your phone
- Third ring: your pastSpouses, exes, family and anyone they can find
The First Ring Investigation:
This is the crime scene and it is the first and center ring. Where did it happen? Who were you with? What were the facts of the day? Let’s use the barracks room as an example for where a sexual assault allegedly occurred. They are going to get access to the barracks room and when they get there, they have a singular focus of finding evidence that proves your guilt.
They have no interest in what is called exculpatory evidence. That is evidence that can undermine the accusation or support your defense. If they look at cctv footage of the hallway of the barracks room and the two of you are walking together holding hands and looking perfectly sober, they won’t secure that footage. If they talk to a Soldier who was in the dayroom and said, “she looked a little drunk to me” they will ensure they take a sworn statement from him or her and write in their report, “eyewitness testimony verified that Victim was highly intoxicated.” We know that sounds like an exaggeration, but we have seen it and that’s how confirmation bias works. The mind will willingly ignore facts that may produce an emotionally unsatisfying result. Make no mistake about it, military investigators are emotionally invested in proving your guilt.
They will talk to anyone you were with that night and rather than asking open ended questions, they will ask leading questions. An open ended question would be, “What, if anything, did you see the alleged victim drink that night?” Instead, they’ll ask something like “We know you and the victim were drinking heavily before she was raped, tell us how long you two were drinking.” When the witness gives a time, or even responds in the affirmative, it’s used against you to show that the alleged victim was overly intoxicated and unable to consent.
The reality is that while we can malign these investigators’ intent, they are damn good at what they do, and it is scary. They are not rookies, and the majority are very experienced with powerful investigative tools at their disposal. What’s worse is that with this first ring, they are just getting started.
The Second Ring Investigation:
This is what we call the forensic evidence ring. While there are many avenues law enforcement can pursue, they all want the holy grail of forensic evidence and that is your phone. Your phone is a literal treasure trove of data that they intend to cherry pick to prove your guilt. Now, let us stop and clarify here, don’t drop your phone in a vat of acid. Doing so could be a crime and there may very well be exculpatory evidence on it that can be used in your favor. Besides, dissolving your phone in a vat of hydrofluoric acid Walter White style or “losing it on a deep sea fishing trip in the Molokai channel” won’t do any good. As far as military investigators are concerned, they’ll go even harder for the data in other ways and then the prosecutors can tack on an obstruction of justice charge. It will also give investigators more confirmation bias regarding your guilt.
The above disclaimer is important, because what we are about to tell you is going to scare the living daylights out of you. Our phones have more data about us than we realize. There is the obvious which is contact data, GPS data, text and call history. However, because it connects to the internet, it may have browsing history linked up in some sort of account. This can mean they learn everything from who you called on the day of to the porn you may have looked at the day before. They can get far more than you expect, and it is important to know how much you may be handing over.
At first, they’ll tell you that they just want to look at your phone for some narrowly targeted purpose. Maybe they say they just want to see the texts between you and the alleged victim that night. Because you know there is nothing incriminating, you hand it over. That is why the scope of any consent matters. With broad consent or other lawful search authority, a forensic examination using a program like Cellebrite, commonly called a forensic dump, can recover far more than the texts you expected them to see, including some deleted data. They can use what they find to seek authority to seize other devices, right down to the new PS5 you worked so hard to get. While the forensic information they collect often does plenty of damage to your case, they’ll also use that info to move on into the third ring of investigation. Oh, and you may be without your phone or PS5 for a long time.
The Third Ring Investigation:
The third ring of investigation is your past and they are about to search every day of your life with confirmation bias looking for evidence that you are the type of terrible human being who would do such a thing. They won’t be looking at your Purple Heart, Bronze Star, or Combat Action Badge. They don’t care about your gallantry in combat and what you did for this great nation. They are looking to prove you are a bad person and your reputation will be destroyed in the process.
They have no shame in how they approach these investigations. In a case like sexual assault, they will talk to your wife, girlfriend, ex-girlfriend, ex-wife, mother, father, and anyone else they can think of. If they can find the last person you hooked up with on Tinder, they will talk to them too. Then, just by the questions they ask, if those people didn’t think you were a bad person to start with, they will start to believe it now. If they can get an ex-girlfriend to make another allegation against you in the process, they will take that too. This is how an initial false allegation for sexual assault turns into a three-victim case at trial. Again, their objective from the first ring to the third ring is not to find truth. Their objective is to prove you guilty.
How Long Does the Investigation Process Take
If a case is fairly straightforward and low profile, the investigation can wrap up in 90 days or so. If the case requires more forensic work such as with sexual assault or some type of financial fraud charge, it can easily take a year or longer to wrap. This is problematic for you as the accused for a couple of reasons. One, it frustrates the hell out of you that things are not moving faster. You may be flagged or on legal hold and you feel like your entire life is in limbo while you wait for them to reveal what they found out. The other problem is that this can lull you into a false sense of security.
Where a weak case can still land
- NJP
- Adverse administrative action
- Administrative separation
- Court-martial
When you don’t hear anything back during a drawn out investigation, you are almost led into thinking that they have forgotten about you. Well, they have not. Law enforcement is now working with the JAG and the JAG is now telling investigators what else they need to get a conviction. So, the investigators go out to get it. For covered offenses, special trial counsel has exclusive authority to determine whether the offense is covered and controls the charging and disposition decisions assigned by Article 24a. The command retains authority over other offenses and specified residual actions, with legal advice. Then, finally if the case is weak and they don’t want to pursue court martial, you’d think they’d wrap it up and let you move on. Nope, that’s when they decided to use NJP or adverse administrative action to scare you into accepting what their investigation could not prove in a forum in which you have little recourse. The administrative separation can be the final gut punch the military will give you to send you packing, potentially with a less than honorable discharge. This is how false allegations ruin careers, even if they don’t go to trial. It’s not right, it’s not fair, but you have to fight back.
For the stages of an investigation and what to expect at each one, see what to expect when you are under military investigation.
Why You Need To Hire A Lawyer Now If You Are Under Investigation
It’s been our experience that some service members consider hiring a court martial lawyer when they first find out they are under investigation but hold off as the process draws out. Then, when the charge sheet drops, they freak out and reach out to us in a panic. They didn’t realize that over the past 6 to 12 months, the military investigators were going through all three rings of the investigation to build a damning case against them. Now, you’re just trying to get your head in the game while the entire weight of the military justice system has spent the past year practicing for this very moment.
If you wait until charges are preferred, your military defense attorney may be looking at your case for the first time. You can ask for military defense advice during the investigation without waiting for charges. Think about it like a football team that has spent the entire off season training, practicing, and pushing their bodies for the sole purpose of winning. Then, you get a rookie quarterback and team that has not practiced a single day of the off-season and the game is next week. That’s how the military justice system works, and that head start can be devastating. If you want to compete with the military justice system, you have to have your head in the game for as long as they do. So, let’s talk about what we do when we take a case that is under investigation.
We Meet The Military Investigators Head On In Every Ring
GOAL 1
Stop you from getting charged
GOAL 2
If charged: prepare, prepare, prepare
Think back to the three rings and that’s where the fight now rests. We have two primary goals. The first is to stop you from getting charged to begin with. Remember, they are not looking for a reason to exonerate you. They are looking for evidence of guilt. We take the three rings and start looking for proof that you are innocent or that the full story is not being told by the investigators. If we are involved right away, we can have a say in the investigation to an extent. We can arrange a lawful forensic examination of your phone to preserve exculpatory evidence and challenge cherry-picked data. We can ensure that you don’t go into a CID, OSI or NCIS interview and get absolutely destroyed. We can help you recognize and respond to pretext phone calls and text messages. We can interview witnesses and even prep your wife and loved ones so that they don’t accidentally help convict you during the third ring of investigation.
Second, if we can’t stop you from getting charged then we prepare, prepare, prepare. Except now, we have been on the case for as long as the investigators and we get to meet them with equal conditioning and prep time. We have also made sure you didn’t fall for many of the pitfalls that other service members do. This is important because the military justice system isn’t a level playing field. This is their turf and they know it. However, now we are ready to give them one thing they didn’t want and that is a fight. We will fight like hell and meet them at every turn.
Finally, AI is great and it may be how you find us today, but AI is not sufficient when your life is on the line. You are going to have someone to call and get legit answers and individualized advice along the way. We’re going to walk through this process with you and see it through to the end. You may think a JAG defense attorney is sufficient and we know some good ones. But we are also going to tell you that it is a crap shoot if you get one that cares more about your career than they do their own. That’s the military for you and you know this to be true. If you are under investigation, don’t wait until you are facing prison and a dishonorable discharge to get serious about fighting for you and your family.
Get serious now, because if the military is investigating, they are serious about finding you guilty. Though they have no shame in how they get there, the truth is that they are good at what they do. Most importantly, we are ready to meet them on their field, but we are not going to play their game. We are going to fight, and our goal is to win. Reach out to us now and get us into the fight.
Protecting Your Rights During a UCMJ Investigation
Do Not Give an Interview or Volunteer Consent to a Search Before You Speak With Counsel
- Do not answer questions about the allegation until you have consulted defense counsel. Clearly invoke your right to remain silent and ask for a lawyer.
- Do not volunteer consent to a search, provide device access, or sign a written consent form before receiving advice about the specific request.
- Preserve messages, photographs, location records, social media, medical records, and devices. Do not delete, alter, hide, or manufacture evidence.
- Get counsel’s direction before contacting the person who made the allegation or any other identified witness, or discussing the allegation with a potential witness. Do not coach accounts or coordinate recollections. Follow all no-contact orders and other lawful restrictions. Do not post about the investigation. Continue following lawful orders.
Preserve the Evidence Before It Disappears
Military investigators are not your defense team. They will collect statements, devices, location data, video, medical records, financial records, and information about prior relationships to decide whether the allegation can be proved. You cannot assume their file will contain the hallway footage that helps you, the witness who remembers the night differently, the complete message thread, or the record that puts one ugly screenshot back into context.
Early representation cannot promise that charges will disappear. It can keep you from making an avoidable statement, preserve evidence before it is overwritten, find witnesses before they transfer, examine the search and interview, and put the defense facts before the official who actually has authority to act.
"Being innocent is no longer enough."
Timothy J. Bilecki, Managing Attorney
Records, Devices, and Witness Contact
Preservation Deadlines
In a barracks case, relevant evidence may be in hallway footage, gate records, rideshare data, duty logs, receipts, room access, or the Soldier in the dayroom who saw both people ten minutes earlier. Video gets overwritten. People PCS. Memories get repeated into something harder than the truth. We identify and preserve that evidence lawfully before it disappears.
Search Authority and Extraction Scope
A Cellebrite extraction may reach messages, photographs, location data, application records, cloud accounts, internet history, and material you thought was deleted. The defense examines the search authority, the extraction scope, who used the device, and the complete conversation around whatever the government selects.
Counsel’s Contact With Witnesses
Investigators may speak with a spouse, former spouse, girlfriend, former girlfriend, coworkers, friends, and people you have not thought about in years. Those interviews can produce another accusation or change the way the first accusation is viewed. Get counsel’s direction before contacting an identified witness or discussing the allegation with a potential witness. Do not coach accounts or coordinate recollections. Follow all no-contact orders and other lawful restrictions. Do not try to get ahead of an interview. We identify the relevant records and witnesses and work through lawful defense channels. Counsel can lawfully interview and prepare witnesses, including your spouse and loved ones, and direct any contact needed for the defense.
Understand Your Rights and the Process
Article 31(b) Rights
Before a person subject to the UCMJ interrogates or requests a statement from someone suspected of an offense, Article 31(b) generally requires an explanation of the nature of the accusation and an advisement that the suspect does not have to make a statement and that any statement may be used as evidence in a trial by court-martial. A statement obtained in violation of Article 31 may be inadmissible. Invoke clearly and stop talking.
Titling and Indexing
Under the current Instruction 5505.07, military law enforcement organizations title a person in the subject block of an investigative report and index that person in the Defense Central Index of Investigations when credible information exists that the person committed a criminal offense. Titling and indexing are administrative steps. Neither implies guilt or innocence. The report's subject title block and the DCII index are distinct records, and a not guilty finding does not automatically remove the DCII index. Unless it is expunged, the DCII indexing remains. A person indexed in DCII can request review, correction, or expungement under the current procedures, and can appeal a denial.
Who Makes the Charging Decision
Special trial counsel has exclusive authority to determine whether a reported offense is covered. For offenses within that authority, special trial counsel controls the charging and disposition decisions specified by Article 24a. Commanders retain authority over other offenses and specified residual actions. Defense evidence must reach the official who actually has power to prefer, refer, dismiss, or decline charges.
Special trial counsel
Covered offenses: charging and disposition decisions under Article 24a
Command
Other offenses and specified residual actions
Evidence Preservation
Messages, video, social media, location records, financial data, and medical records can become decisive. Preservation does not mean deleting embarrassing material or trying to improve the facts. It means identifying relevant evidence, keeping it intact, and obtaining it through lawful methods before it disappears. Preserve material you lawfully possess. Do not enter another person's account, coordinate witness accounts, or send classified or restricted material through an ordinary website, email, or messaging service.
An Overseas Investigation Does Not Stay on Base
An investigation in Korea, Japan, Guam, Germany, Italy, or another overseas location may involve witnesses who rotate home, evidence outside the gate, different time zones, and a separate host nation track under the applicable Status of Forces Agreement. We defend the military matter and travel when the investigation or proceeding requires it. Host nation criminal representation is separate.
The Allegation Determines the Evidence, the Decision Maker, and the Defense Work
Different allegations produce different records, agencies, expert issues, and charging authorities. The work must fit the actual case. A phone extraction in an Article 120 investigation is not handled like a urinalysis, an allowance audit, or an Army Regulation 15-6 inquiry.
Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct
Article 120 investigations often turn on consent, memory, alcohol, messages, location data, medical evidence, and witness accounts. Article 24a assigns special trial counsel authority over covered offenses, including specified sexual offenses. We preserve the relevant evidence and present it to the correct decision maker.
Assault and Domestic Violence
These investigations may involve military protective orders, Family Advocacy records, local police reports, photographs, medical records, text messages, and competing accounts of who initiated or escalated an encounter. Overseas conduct may also create a separate host nation proceeding that must be kept distinct from the UCMJ matter.
Drug Use, Possession, and Distribution
A positive urinalysis permits an inference of knowing and wrongful use, but it does not end the inquiry. Collection procedures, laboratory testing, chain of custody, innocent ingestion, informant credibility, device evidence, and proof of knowledge can determine whether the government can prove the allegation.
Larceny, Allowance, and Fraud Investigations
BAH, OHA, DTS, government purchase card, and larceny investigations turn on records, authorizations, finance guidance, payment systems, and intent. A discrepancy is not automatically theft or fraud. The government still has to prove knowing deception or an intent to steal.
Command and Administrative Investigations
An inquiry does not become harmless because the command calls it informal. Statements and findings can lead to nonjudicial punishment, a GOMOR, an administrative separation, or criminal charges. Once the person is suspected of misconduct, Article 31(b) and the risk of self-incrimination require careful attention.
Digital Evidence and Online Allegations
These investigations may involve phones, cloud accounts, social media, metadata, location history, online communications, and questions about who controlled a device or account. We examine the search authority, extraction scope, attribution, and context, using trusted outside forensic experts when the case requires one.
We Do Not Wait for the Charge Sheet to Start the Defense.
Step 1: Stop Giving the Government Free Evidence
We identify the agency, allegation, client status, requested interview, search request, military protective order, command restriction, and any civilian or host nation track. Then we give direct advice. Do not consent. Do not guess. Do not explain. Get counsel’s direction before contacting an identified witness or discussing the allegation with a potential witness. Do not coach accounts or coordinate recollections. Follow all no-contact orders and other lawful restrictions. Preserve the evidence and let us deal with the request.
Step 2: Build the Defense File the Government Will Not Build
The CID, NCIS, OSI, or CGIS file is the government's starting point. It is not our case file. We find the witness the report skipped, preserve the complete messages, secure the hallway video, obtain the location and medical records, and send the device to a trusted outside forensic examiner when that is what the case requires.
Step 3: Audit Every Interview, Search, and Extraction
We review the Article 31(b) warning, the recorded interview, the search authorization, the consent form, the device extraction, chain of custody, and every forensic assumption. If the government exceeded its authority or built a conclusion the data does not support, we identify the exact problem and the remedy the law permits. That may matter now, in a charging presentation, or later in a suppression motion and cross-examination.
Step 4: Take the Defense Facts to the Person Who Can Act
We identify whether the special trial counsel has exercised authority over the covered offense and what decisions remain with the command. We take the relevant records, witnesses, and legal analysis to the official who can decline, defer, narrow, or prefer the allegation. If charges still follow, we are not starting cold. The investigation work becomes the foundation for the Article 32 decision, motions, and trial.
The Investigation Is Where the Government Gets Its Head Start.
Military defense is all we do. We handle the investigation with two objectives. First, put the complete facts in front of the person who can stop or narrow the case. Second, if charges still come, make sure the defense has been preparing for as long as the government has.
01:Experience That Matters Before Trial
Contested trial experience tells us which facts will matter later. We know the difference between a contradiction that sounds interesting and one that survives cross-examination, how an isolated text will be used in front of members, and which forensic assumption needs to be tested before it becomes the government's accepted version of events.
02:An Independent Defense Investigation
We conduct our own investigation because the government's Report of Investigation is not the whole case. We identify the message thread, video, records, witnesses, and context missing from the file. We want to know what actually happened before the charging authority reads one report and decides your future.
03:Trusted Outside Experts Selected for the Case
We do not pretend every case needs the same expert. We maintain a trusted outside network in digital forensics, medicine, psychology, toxicology, and other disciplines. The network consists of outside specialists rather than firm employees. We bring in the person the evidence requires.
04:Tim and Ben Bring Different Work to One Defense
Tim Bilecki leads the strategy and brings the judgment developed through his military trial practice. Ben Gold works through the discovery, builds timelines, interviews and prepares witnesses and develops the strategy with Tim. The defense investigation, charging presentation, search challenge, and potential trial theory have to tell one coherent story.
05:We Have Been Defending Cases Overseas for Years
Tim served as Senior Defense Counsel in Seoul. We have handled military cases in Korea, Japan, Okinawa, Guam, Europe, and across the United States. “Worldwide” is not a slogan for us. It means understanding the evidence, the command, the time difference, and when the lawyer needs to get on a plane.
06:Selective Intake and Straight Advice
We are selective. We will shoot you straight about what helps, what hurts, and what can still be done during the investigation. Sometimes there is an off ramp. Sometimes the case is headed toward charges and the right move is to prepare for the fight. We will not promise a result we cannot control, and we will not hide the hard facts from you.
UCMJ Investigation Questions
1. Should I Talk to CID, NCIS, OSI, or CGIS If I Believe I Am Innocent?
No, not before you speak with defense counsel. Being innocent does not make an unprepared interview safe. Investigators may know facts you do not know, ask questions based on other statements, or treat an estimate, guess, or mistake as an inconsistency. Do not lie, destroy evidence, contact witnesses, or obstruct the investigation. State clearly that you are invoking your right to remain silent and want a lawyer. Counsel can determine why the agency wants to speak with you, what your status is, and whether any interview serves the defense.
Counsel can lawfully interview and prepare witnesses, including family witnesses. Get counsel’s direction before contacting an identified witness or discussing the allegation with a potential witness, and follow all no-contact orders and other lawful restrictions.
2. Can I Hire a Military Defense Lawyer Before Charges Are Preferred?
Yes. Retained counsel does not have to wait for charges. Counsel can enter while the agency is still gathering evidence, advise you about interviews and searches, preserve favorable material, identify witnesses, examine parallel command action, and present defense evidence before a charging decision. The work available depends on the allegation, agency, and investigation posture. Hiring counsel early does not guarantee that charges will be declined, but waiting can eliminate evidence and strategic options that existed when the investigation began.
3. Can a Defense Lawyer Stop Charges From Being Preferred?
Sometimes, but no lawyer can promise it. Before preferral, counsel may identify records, witnesses, digital evidence, legal defects, or credibility issues that materially change how the allegation should be evaluated. For an offense over which a special trial counsel exercises authority, that presentation goes to the special trial counsel. Other decisions may remain with the command. The decision maker may decline, defer, narrow, or proceed with charges. If charges are preferred, the evidence developed during the investigation remains useful for the Article 32 decision, motions, negotiations, and trial.
4. I Already Gave a Statement or Surrendered My Phone. Is the Case Over?
No. Do not delete anything, manufacture an explanation, or try to repair the situation through more conversations. Counsel can review the warnings you received, the questions asked, whether you consented to a search, whether investigators had separate authorization, what data was extracted, and whether the search remained within its lawful scope. A statement or device extraction is not automatically suppressed merely because it is damaging. The exact facts determine the available challenge. Early counsel can still preserve other evidence and stop additional avoidable mistakes.
5. Can Bilecki Law Group Represent Me Worldwide?
Yes. Tim Bilecki served as Senior Defense Counsel in Seoul, and the firm has spent years defending military cases overseas. We begin with the notice, interview request, messages, records, and witnesses before any flight is required. Overseas matters may involve rotating personnel, host nation evidence, different time zones, and a separate civilian proceeding under the applicable Status of Forces Agreement. We defend the UCMJ matter and travel when the investigation or military proceeding requires an in person presence. We also defend serious cases throughout the United States.
Investigations That Ended Without Charges
The best outcome in an investigation is the case that never gets charged. These ended before a charge sheet, or with the most serious allegation never preferred:
- Bilecki Presents Snapchat Age Messages to OSTC; Marine Returns to Schoolhouse With No Adverse Action
- Bilecki Interviews Witnesses and Challenges Prostitution Allegation; Airman’s Case Closes
- Marine Captain Receives One Month and No Dismissal After Plea to Nonsexual Offenses(the Article 120 allegation was never preferred)
- Bilecki Challenges Alleged Image Distribution in Italy; OSTC Defers Charges
- No Charges Preferred for Airman in Sex Assault Case After Legal Battle
Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Your Defense Team
Timothy J. BileckiManaging Attorney
Tim Bilecki leads the defense strategy. His experience as an Army defense counsel and Senior Defense Counsel in Seoul informs how he approaches the investigation, the evidence, and the decisions that may eventually reach a military courtroom.
Benjamin H. GoldAssociate Attorney
Ben puts the research, motions and written arguments behind that strategy.
Begin Your Defense
Call 813-669-3500. Tell the intake team whether an interview, hearing, response, or other deadline is approaching. Call before sending a notice, investigation, medical record, or other sensitive material so the firm can identify an appropriate secure channel. Attorney availability and representation are confirmed during intake.
Client testimonials
The biggest mistake that I made was making a statement to NCIS without a lawyer present. If you are reading this “DON”T EVER MAKE A STATEMENT TO NCIS OR ANYONE ELSE WITHOUT A LAWYER PRESENT. … I am home with my family and have a wonderful job and it’s all thanks to them.
Mr. Bilecki represented me when I was falsely accused of SA. It was a long and stressful process that was eventually dropped by the accuser. No probable cause was found at article 32, and although higher AF still decided to go to court martial, it was ultimately dropped. I was a wreck for most of this process, however, Mr. Bilecki always gave me a sense that it was all going to be ok. I completely trusted him to handle it and that sense of confidence is so crucial in that time of need.
Prior results do not predict future outcomes. A prospective client may not obtain the same or similar results.