Three Things to Ask Your Military Attorney
Being accused of a crime in the military can be scary. Whether you have been in the military for two years or twenty, facing court-martial means your life is on the line. When the stakes are that high, you have to trust that your military attorney will fight for you.
Often, you have no choice in what military attorney you get. The military gives you a defense attorney free of charge. But which attorney is assigned to your case is often luck of the draw, depending on where you are located and who is available. Sometimes these attorneys are stationed at the same military installation as you, and sometimes they are located a few hundred (or thousands) of miles away. Sometimes they have a couple years of experience, and sometimes they are brand new attorneys. Sometimes they have the time to work closely with you, and sometimes they are too busy to even take your call.
Before trusting a military attorney to handle your case, be sure to ask the following questions.
How much experience do you have?
Often, your assigned military attorney is in his or her first or second military assignment. Military attorneys rarely specialize in criminal defense work. And when your life is on the line, you want an experienced defense attorney working for you.
The first thing you need to know is how many trials your assigned military attorney has done. In today’s military, young attorneys rarely have more than ten trials under their belt. And those young attorneys are often assigned to defense counsel positions, where they have very little supervision and are responsible for countless clients. Trial experience matters. You want a defense attorney that has experienced the pressure-packed world of a criminal trial and has come out on top.
Even if you don’t want your case to go to trial, you want an attorney who has tried a lot of cases. The attorneys prosecuting you are often led by a senior attorney with years of experience. That senior attorney knows if the defense attorney is short on experience and may exploit that inexperience to get you to plead guilty or accept a discharge from the military instead of demanding trial by court-martial.
You also need to know how long your assigned military attorney has been involved in military justice. There are so many unique parts of the military justice system, and you want an attorney that has experienced it all. Experience in military justice is necessary, so your attorney can find every opportunity to resolve your case without you facing serious punishment.
How many cases like mine have you handled?
In addition to trial experience, you want an attorney that has handled cases just like yours, especially if you are facing sexual assault charges.
Sexual assault in the military is unique. Your attorney needs to know the law inside and out. He or she needs to have experience in front of a jury arguing sexual assault cases. And you want someone who has the skill and experience to aggressively confront someone that alleges you sexually assaulted them.
The stakes are at an all-time high in sexual assault cases. Not only could you be confined for life and dishonorably discharged from the military, you could be required to register as a sex offender for decades (or life!). You need an attorney that has extensive experience in sexual assault cases to ensure that you get the best defense.
How do I know you are fighting for me?
Face it — even the most experienced military attorneys may not truly fight for you. They may not be comfortable confronting someone that claims you sexually assaulted them. They may not want to lose their relationships with military prosecutors to challenge the evidence against you. They may not be willing to go out on a limb to protect your life.
You want to be sure that when you call, your military attorney will answer and that your military attorney has the time to focus on your case. And when push comes to shove, you need to know that your military attorney will fight for you.
Bottom line: you want an experienced defense attorney who has handled cases just like yours and will fight for you every step along the way.
