Legal Question in Military Law in California

I am currently being charged with assault, drunken disorderly conduct, disobeying a direct order, and general article (They said i am lying) under the UCMJ. Two marines were assaulted by marines in my company and I was present for this. Now they are saying they have people who witnessed me hitting one of the kids, one of these witnesses is a cousin of the one of the two victims and knows my name. Another witness is part of the victims unit and didn't show up till after the fight broke out. All of the people there including my self and both witnesses were under the influence of alcohol. I have pictures of both witnesses playing beer pong and consuming alcohol that day prior to the conflict. Now being NJP'd they can put me on restriction which will cause me to lose my post deployment leave (happened on the 31st MEU, we will be back in the states and on leave 19 JULY 2010) and more likely than not loss of pay and rank, Both of which will cause me to lose pay plus my reputation and chances of re-enlistment will be ruined. If i took this to court marshal would they have any hard evidence and be able to prove there lies based on hear say of eye witnesses who were under the influence? Alcohol was involved heavily with everyone there and there was at least 30-40 people present when the fight broke out. I feel I'm being accused by the witnesses because they know my name and i was there all day.


Asked on 7/11/10, 4:45 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Patrick Tracy Patrick J. Tracy, Esq, P.E.,

This is not a question for a bulletin board. That being said, you need to speak to a Marine or Navy lawyer to determine what your alternatives may be. In so many words, don't agree to anything. We had similar situations in the Army when we were in Vietnam. There's never a good resolution to these situations. Good luck!

Patrick Tracy

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Answered on 7/11/10, 7:54 am
William J. Holmes Attorney at Military Law

If you know you did not do these things, you might want to consider refusing NJP. They cannot take you to NJP without your consent. If you refuse this, they have no option other than to take this to a court-martial or drop the charges. If they are lying about you, you should be able to prove that at court since there were numerous other witnesses. However, you will need to consult with an attorney in detail about what you did, what they are saying and all the circumstances about this case.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions.

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Answered on 7/12/10, 2:55 pm


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