These days, the military is different than it has ever been. Your father’s Army and your grandfather’s Navy are long gone. Each year, it seems that there are more military members facing sexual harassment or sexual assault allegations than there are military members receiving Achievement Medals. And although the news media will try to make everyone believe that misconduct in the military is on the rise, from our perspective, the truth is that our military has excessively reacted to the pressures of “political correctness.”
Quite simply, we are seeing far too many military members being unnecessarily investigated just because someone claims they were sexually harassed or maltreated. We are seeing “sexual assault” cases that would never be pursued by civilian prosecutor’s offices. And we are watching as capable and inexperienced military members are being kicked out of the service based on nothing but “he said-she said” claims of rape.
At Golden Law, we saw this trend coming. We’ve been in the trenches, fighting in military courtrooms since 2006, when “Me Too” was first promoted on Myspace and before it had a hashtag. And in these times, when commanders often do what is “politically correct” instead of what is “the right thing to do,” we continue to fight for our clients. Here’s how we protect your rights in these times of “political correctness.”
Never Back Down
Have you ever heard the phrase “fight strength with strength”? That’s how we operate. In today’s military, so called “victims” are supported at every turn, while the accused is left behind. “Victims” are championed by commanders, who are afraid that not supporting a “victim” will land them on the front page of the Military Times. “Victims” are routinely given transfers to their base or location of preference, granted military lawyers whose job it is to protect them, and awarded large disability payments by the Department of Veteran’s Affairs. At the same time, organizations that once searched for the truth of an allegation, like CID or NCIS, are running biased investigations that seek only to confirm what a “victim” says and never to question the validity of their allegation.
With all of these forces working against you, you need strength in your corner. You need a defense attorney willing to call out command for their failures. You need a defense attorney ready to challenge so called “investigators” who can’t be bothered to interview the witnesses that matter. You need a defense attorney who can leverage years of experience and never back down from the challenge of defending you until the very end.
There are many ways you can “flip the script” and show your innocence. But unless your defense attorney is hustling to investigate your case and exonerate you, the wave of “political correctness” may drown you too.
Never Show Weakness
In today’s military, it seems like every sexual harassment or sexual assault allegation gets investigated and prosecuted. No matter how bad the case may be. But in the worst cases, the ones with absolutely no evidence, what almost always happens is that the command tries to negotiate a result.
We see this in cases where a Soldier is told that the investigation will end if he takes a polygraph test, as if it’s his job to prove his innocence (rather than the government’s job to prove his guilt). Or where an Airman is told that the charges against him will be dropped if just agrees to get out of the Air Force with an Under Other Than Honorable Conditions discharge. Or, worst, when a Sailor is told to take a plea deal, to agree to crimes he knows he did not commit, simply to avoid the worst case scenario of sex offender registration.
Certainly, there are cases where a negotiated outcome is a good solution. But most often, they are just a “politically correct” solution designed to minimize the difficulty of proving that the allegations actually occurred. When those situations occur, you need a defense attorney that does not show weakness. Because if there is anything our decades of experience have taught us, it’s that when the government is offering you a deal, it’s because their case may be in trouble.
Always Pursue the Truth
Military investigators, commanders and prosecutors should be in the business of pursuing the truth without passion or prejudice. Unfortunately, that’s not the reality of today. Instead, the military is prejudiced against the accused. An experienced defense attorney knows that finding the truth is the most important outcome. We investigate cases, respond to allegations, and represent clients in criminal trials with that in mind.
Because in today’s day and age, when simply claiming “rape” gives you all the benefits of a so-called “victim,” the only thing that will win is the truth.
And the truth is that, with the military more concerned with “political correctness” than simply doing the right thing, it’s up to your defense attorney to protect your rights and pursue the truth.
Make sure you have the right team on your side!
