Free Military Lawyers
Military members are entitled to the free legal services of a uniformed military defense attorney for criminal military actions and most adverse actions. They are also entitled to hire a civilian attorney, but at their own expense to work with the free military defense attorney. There are many factors that separate civilian defense attorneys from military defense attorneys, but the most compelling reason may be the disparity in experience.
Each branch of service handles the assignment of “JAGs” differently. New judge advocates are typically fresh out of law school, and have little-to-no prior criminal law experience. These new judge advocates begin their JAG career in one of four focused areas: 1) military justice, 2) civil law, 3) legal assistance, or 4) military defense. Even attorneys that have 4 to 6 years of experience have no more than 1-2 years of experience in any one field. Even the best of the best in uniform have only a few years of time in courtrooms.
That’s not to say the free JAG defense attorneys have no experience. Many military defense attorneys are passionate about their job, their client’s case, and may have good litigation skills. All of the attorneys at Golden Law were once young JAGs advising clients to the best of their ability, and had highly successful military careers while they served. Free military defense attorneys may be beneficial to a service member’s case, but it’s hard to imagine a situation in which a client wouldn’t be even more benefited to have both the free military attorney, and a civilian military attorney with substantially more experience in military courtrooms.
Can I Have a Civilian Lawyer and a Free Military Lawyer?
The right to a free military attorney does not end when a service member hires a civilian attorney. In fact, in almost every military case, the civilian attorney works side-by-side with the military attorney to provide the client joint representation. The free military attorney is a force multiplier. Service members don’t have to pick either-or, they get the best of both when they hire a civilian attorney.
We take pride in maintaining close working relationships with our military counterparts on all of our cases. Part of our experience is how best to create the working relationship between our attorneys and the military attorneys to get the client the most comprehensive representation possible.
Do All Civilian Military Lawyers Have Military Experience?
Not all civilian lawyers who try to take cases in the military justice process have military experience. There are a lot of civilian lawyers who get hired because they have an office outside a military base but they have never practiced in military court and don’t have experience with military judges, military juries, or the military rules of practice. You definitely want an attorney who has not only been a JAG but also has had an extraordinary amount of litigation experience. There are many JAGs in the military today who have served extensively in the military, yet simply haven’t done any litigated courts-martial, especially sexual assault cases.
