22 year Naval Officer was taken to a Board of Inquiry for allegations including fraud against the government (Art 132, UCMJ), failure to obey a general order or regulation (Art 92, UCMJ), conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman (Art 133, UCMJ), and numerous allegations of substandard duty performance. At his Board of Inquiry, JAG Defense vigorously defended our client against all allegations by attacking the sufficiency of the investigation, impeaching the objectivity and motives of the Commodore who ordered the investigation and Board of Inquiry, presenting conclusive proof of our client's innocence, and calling a virtual parade of fellow officers to testify to our client's outstanding officership, integrity, and military character. Result: The O-6 board members deliberated for only 5 minutes before returning a finding of NO MISCONDUCT on all charges, and RETAINED our client in the U.S. Navy.

Navy E-7 was charged with the sexual assault and sexual harassment of 3 junior Sailors in his division. If convicted, our client was facing the possibility of confinement and a punitive discharge, and would have had to register as a sex offender. Through JAG Defense's pretrial investigation and negotiations, we were able to convince the chain of command to WITHDRAW AND DISMISS ALL CHARGES against our client. Instead, he accepted Nonjudicial Punishment for his admitted simple assault of 1 of the females, thereby avoiding a federal criminal record, confinement, and a sex offender registration.

USMC E-4 engaged in consensual sexual activity with a fellow Marine while she was TDY for a school, who happened to be engaged to be married. Following their sexual encounter, the female Marine PCSed to her permanent duty station. The two continued to keep in touch via text messaging, to include friendly and flirtatious messages with each other. When the female Marine's fiancé discovered the text messages, however, he became upset. Thus, over four months after it happened, the female Marine claimed that the sexual activity that occurred with our client was actually a "rape." Charges were referred to trial by General Court-Martial, where our client faced the possibility of confinement for life, a dishonorable discharge, and a sex offender registration. Prior to trial, the defense presented evidence of the friendly text messages, her motive to fabricate, and numerous inconsistent statements, yet the chain of command did not halt the court-martial proceedings. During our continued pretrial investigation, we uncovered information that our client was not the only Marine with whom the alleged victim engaged in sexual activity while attending the course. We submitted notice to the trial counsel, and to the alleged victim, that the defense intended to present evidence of these incidents of sexual activity with other Marines, including asking her (now) husband about them. The very next day, the alleged victim sent a letter to the convening authority declining to participate in any further judicial proceedings against our client. The charges against our client were subsequently WITHDRAWN AND DISMISSED, meaning our client will not even have to go through the stress and anxiety of a court-martial to clear his name.

Air Force O-3 was accused of breaking into a female officer's house and raping her. At the ensuing Article 32 hearing, we aggressively cross-examined the alleged victim, highlighting many aspects of her testimony that impeached her credibility, including (a) her multiple motives to fabricate, (b) numerous inconsistent statements, and (c) the sheer incredibility of her story. Further, we presented the eyewitness testimony of the alleged victim's roommate, who testified that the alleged victim was actually on top of our client during the sexual intercourse. Despite the significant problems with the government's case that we exposed, the Convening Authority still referred the charges to a general court-martial, where our client faced the possibility of life in prison, a dismissal from the Air Force, a federal conviction, and a lifetime sex offender registration. Prior to trial, JAG Defense negotiated an alternate disposition on behalf of our client, which resulted in administrative action for Unlawful Entry and Conduct Unbecoming an Officer and Gentleman. Against the advice of his Staff Judge Advocate, the Convening Authority accepted our proposed resolution of the case. Result: All court-martial charges WITHDRAWN AND DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. No confinement, no conviction, no dismissal from the Air Force, and no sex offender registration.

USMC E-5 was placed into pretrial confinement based upon 14 charges of sexual assault of a junior female Marine, as well as a myriad of unrelated charges. The client retained the military attorneys of JAG Defense to represent him. Immediately upon being retained, JAG Defense began investigating the allegations of sexual assault, uncovering a critical witness unknown to NCIS or the prosecution who spoke with the "victim" only minutes after the alleged sexual assault. Following our discovery of this exculpatory witness, we made repeated demands for a speedy trial. At our client's Article 32 hearing, our aggressive cross-examination of the "victim" highlighted numerous inconsistencies in her story, established a motive to fabricate the allegations against our client, and trapped her in a blatant lie during her sworn testimony, which she was forced to admit under oath. In addition, we presented the testimony of the exculpatory witness, who testified that immediately following the alleged sexual assault, the "victim" was excited, happy, and bragging that she had fooled around with our client. Following the Article 32 hearing, we convinced the Commanding General to WITHDRAW AND DISMISS all sexual assault charges against our client in exchange for guilty pleas to the other unrelated charges. Result: Our client was released from confinement with time served and avoided having to register as a sex offender.

Army E-7 was deployed to a Forward Operating Base in Afghanistan when he was discovered to be in possession of numerous Schedule III and IV drugs, to include prescription medications and steroids. A lengthy CID investigation ensued, and our Client was ultimately charged with the unlawful possession, use and distribution of numerous controlled substances, numerous charges of violating orders, obstruction of justice, false official statement, adultery, and fraternization. Client was facing decades of possible confinement time, as well as a Dishonorable or Bad Conduct Discharge from the Army, and hired JAG Defense to represent him. Over the course of 1½ years, JAG Defense investigated/negotiated/advocated on behalf of Client, culminating in our representation of him at his court-martial before a panel of Officer and Enlisted Members. RESULT: No Confinement, No Reduction in Paygrade, No Discharge.

Prior to JAG Defense involvement, Air Force E-5 was administratively reduced in paygrade to E-4 for substandard performance of duty, and immediately recommended for administrative discharge. Over the course of his 18 year career, our client had received numerous negative performance reports, been downgraded in his skill level assessment, been previously separated due to Reduction in Force, had failed to progress in multiple career fields, and had received numerous Letters of Counseling/Admonition/Reprimand. Client hired JAG Defense to represent him at his administrative separation board for substandard duty performance. At his board, we convinced the member panel to vote 3-0 for Probation and Rehabilitation for our Client. Despite that recommendation from the Board, Client’s chain of command opted to deny Client the opportunity for Probation and Rehabilitation, and continued to pursue discharge. JAG Defense continued to work with Client to fight the discharge, to include having him assessed for ADHD (where he was prescribed much-needed medication), and transferred to a new unit for a fresh appraisal of his duty performance. We solicited duty performance endorsements from his new chain of command, obtained evaluations from medical providers for his ADHD, and fought the discharge all the way to the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force. RESULT: Despite strong recommendations for discharge from the Wing, NAF, and MAJCOM levels, our client was RETAINED by the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force and will RETIRE from the USAF.

Our client was an Air Force E-3 who was riding on his motorcycle with a friend when they were involved in a horrific crash. Regrettably, our client’s friend was killed due to injuries sustained in the accident. As a result of his death, the Air Force charged our client with Involuntary Manslaughter and referred the case to a General Court-Martial. At the court-martial, we successfully suppressed the blood-alcohol tests performed on our client on the night of the accident, resulting in a finding of NOT GUILTY on the charge of Involuntary Manslaughter. Instead, our client was convicted of only Negligent Homicide. In addition, in light of the extremely sympathetic sentencing case we presented, which included the testimony of the victim’s mother and brother in his support, our client was RETAINED at his court-martial.