Legal Question in Military Law in North Carolina
Deserter status, pending legal charges.
What would happen if I were to go AWOL (for more than 30 days) when I am already pending a special court martial? My situation is very difficult with many underlying factors and family issues that I don't wish to explain here. I really need to go home and deal with issues, but I'm on pre-trial restriction, making leave impossible. My service is the USMC, and I have been on active duty for more than 3 and a half years, completing one deployment to Iraq. It's not that I hate the Corps, but they are making it very, very hard for me to deal with personal issues and I'm facing drug charges (I have a long record of substance abuse.) I feel that I have two choices: stay here for months, await court martial, serve my time in the brig (I dont have a problem taking responsibility for what I have done) and come home to a ruined family, or go UA and face additional charges, while living life on the run. It seems like there is no option here, and emergency leave or hardship discharges are out of the question, as I am pending that court martial. Am I trapped? Are there options? My military lawyer isn't really helping and I would never suggest going AWOL to her.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Deserter status, pending legal charges.
You should stay and ride this out. If you go AWOL you'll just make a bad problem worse. Stay, take your medicine, and get out. Without knowing what the problem is at home, I can only tell you that you'll make it worse if you add making yourself a fugitive to the mix.
Re: Deserter status, pending legal charges.
Have you been to court yet? Have you been arraigned? If so, they could hold the court-martial without you and try you in your absence. Even if that has not happened yet, they would charge you with desertion if you leave now as well as breaking restriction on top of the other charges you are already facing. It would certainly increase your punishment and the severity of the charges you are facing. If you are serious about leaving before your trial, you should discuss this with your attorney in depth so that you are aware of the consequences.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me directly.
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