Legal Question in Military Law in Virginia

I was found guilty of violating General Order 1B (Entering a male villa while deployed). I still recieved an Honorable discharge, as if it had never happened, but ultimately I want to fight this again because I wasn't the right person. The witnesses stated that they had seen me in a male villa. They described the female as blonde and between 5'7-5'9. The investigators showed two pictures of me, and one picture of other blonde females. I was "positively identified", though prior to being shown the pictures, the witnesses couldn't remember any distint details. Additionally, both witnesses stated that they could not with complete certainty testify I was the female in that villa. Then, an individual testified saying that another accused female had told her what happened that night. The other accused female came forward and denied telling her that was what happened, but did say she talked to the witness telling her what the investigation was about. I had four witnesses who were with me during the time I was alleged to have been in the villa. The owner of the villa was sent to rehab in Germany and was never questioned again, though later after my conviction, he stated that there were only two females in the room and after being shown a picture of me, stated that he did not ever remember me being there. As I said, I have nothing to gain from appealing this other than my own peace of mind because I never did what I was convicted of. Additionally, the prosecutor on the case was the same attorney I worked with in 2008 who denied my appeal on a different matter. I successfully completed a military program which stated nothing done previously could be used against me. I know there are laws about the identification process and hearsay. I turned down a court-martial because the main witness (owner of villa) was in rehab, was not responding to my attorney or the prosecution, and his command was not willing to give my attorney contact information until after I had been offered the Article 15. Can anyone help me identify what laws specifically apply to my case?


Asked on 6/28/11, 9:47 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
William J. Holmes Attorney at Military Law

You went to Article 15 and were subsequently given a honorable discharge. Now you want to appeal the Article 15. You can still do that by filing a petition to the Board for Correction of Military Records. However, you would have to present sufficient evidence to convince the Board that you did not do what you were punished for. If we can do that, then what relief do you want them to provide? Do you just want the Article 15 overturned? Do you want your discharge overturned and to be renstated in the Army? What do you want to ask for?

An Article 15 does not count as a conviction and will not have any affect on you outside of the Army. If you do not want to go back into the Army, it should have no affect on your and your life. However, if you want to appeal it, I will be happy to help you with your petition and submitting an appropriate package to the Board.

Please feel free to contact me directly at [email protected] or to call 757-420-9321 so that we can discuss this in more detail.

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Answered on 6/28/11, 11:30 am


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