Your Best Defense Team
When you face criminal charges in the military, you want an experienced defense counsel working for you. Experience matters, and any good defense counsel will have the experience of being a former prosecutor. Here are just a few of the benefits of having a former prosecutor on your side:
They See Both Sides of the Case
A defense counsel who has experience as a prosecutor has a unique perspective on a case. A military prosecutor is trained to review the facts of the case, recommend charges to command, and present the case to a judge or jury with the hopes of winning a “guilty” verdict. Defense counsel with experience prosecuting cases share that training and can see both sides of the case. They understand how current prosecutors collect evidence and build their cases. They know all the prosecutor’s best arguments, because they’ve given the same arguments themselves. And they are able to identify and exploit the prosecutor’s weaknesses in order to achieve a just result for their clients.
Certainly, any half-decent attorney can train themselves to critically analyze the facts of a case. But spending years as a military prosecutor gives a defense counsel the unique ability to use their experience to a client’s advantage – to capitalize on years of training to dominate the prosecution.
They Know the Tricks
Look, military prosecutors do not regularly “game the system” or use “tricks” just to win. But there are certain strategies that military prosecutors use that only a former prosecutor turned defense counsel knows to expect.
As an example, take the case of a military member who alleges sexual assault but later acts in unexplained ways. Perhaps that “victim” is texting the person he or she accused of sexual assault, or even stays in a relationship with that person. Military prosecutors will often hire experts in psychology to explain these behaviors. They call them “counterintuitive behaviors,” and the expert explains that someone may act that way even after being sexually assaulted.
But there are flaws in that science – flaws that only a defense counsel who has spent time as a military prosecutor is able to identify and take advantage of.
Each branch of the military trains its most capable attorneys to become senior prosecutors. They spend countless hours learning the strategies necessary to win a conviction. You want a defense counsel that’s been through that training and knows how to capitalize on it.
They Understand the Command’s Perspective
Obviously, the military has an interest in prosecuting real criminals. Commanders need to maintain good order and discipline in their units, and the Uniform Code of Military Justice was written with that goal in mind. But there are plenty of defense counsel out there who promise to “take on the government” or “expose military injustice” without the experience of working directly with commanders.
Former military prosecutors understand the command’s perspective and use it to their advantage. This sometimes means getting rid of a case before it even begins or negotiating an outcome that is good for everyone involved. It also may mean confronting the command but doing so respectfully and effectively, rather than recklessly and uselessly.
(Some) Have Extensive Courtroom Experience
Most military defense counsel have very little trial experience, and some have barely set foot inside a courtroom at all. For a military member accused of a crime, this is an obvious disadvantage. An experienced prosecutor may try multiple cases a month.
A former prosecutor turned defense counsel has both the experience of a seasoned trial lawyer and the “know how” of a capable defense attorney. A former prosecutor is better prepared to protect your rights and secure your future if your case goes to trial.
And if one former military prosecutor can make such a big difference, imagine a close-knit team of three highly experienced former military prosecutors fighting for you. The team at Golden Law needs to be on your side.
