Court Martial Question

[bluebellmama]

New York but crime was committed in Texas.

After just returning from a pretty hard court martial trial as a victim I'm very disappointed in my trial counsel and SVC attorney for not submitting pertinent evidence that was incredibly important to be seen by the judge during the trial. Instead they half assed everything and cost my children and I having any peace or justice. I'm wondering if there is anyone with the knowledge of a victim in a court martial hearing having any ability to have a retrial or appealing the judge's decision in the case or even to be reheard? My trial counsel thought they had it in the bag without making sure that all their bases were checked. I stressed to them the importance on making sure that there was evidence that directly correlated with my character. Instead they ignored me time and time again over a year of communicating with my attorney (who I think really didn't do his job at all and just gave me the 'everything's going great' jive but it really wasn't at all) and got absolutely nowhere. Now this monster is only getting 10 days in jail and his rank demoted for a crime he committed against someone else. Nowhere close to what he should for sexual assault and assault/battery in front of small children on 3 separate counts.

Some of my witnesses were approved to be telephonically present yet were never even called. Some didn't show up to court despite a federal subpoena which would warrant a US Marshal or a Military Police Officer to make sure they get their butt to court. Instead I was totally robbed of any justice. The judge was incredibly bias and allowed the defense counsel to attack me and badger me about things that quite literally were grasping at straws and not even relevant to the court trial. Not once did the defense say he didn't abuse or rape me. Yet, he still got off the hook.

If I can't get a retrial or appeal the judge's ruling am I capable of trying this in civilian court. I know a bit about double jeopardy but he wasn't convicted in military court. It makes a lot of sense why the military has a 2% conviction rate of sexual offenders.

I'm just totally broken and lost as to what to do. I feel sick to my stomach knowing how little of a punishment he has received.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

The US Constitution does not allow double jeopardy. In other words a defendant can't be tried for the same charge twice. This applies to those tried under the UCMJ.

10 U.S.C. § 844 - U.S. Code - Unannotated Title 10. Armed Forces § 844. Art. 44. Former jeopardy

 

[Taxing Matters]

New York but crime was committed in Texas.

If I can't get a retrial or appeal the judge's ruling am I capable of trying this in civilian court. I know a bit about double jeopardy but he wasn't convicted in military court. It makes a lot of sense why the military has a 2% conviction rate of sexual offenders.

I'm just totally broken and lost as to what to do. I feel sick to my stomach knowing how little of a punishment he has received.

You said that he was prosecuted at court martial and was convicted of some offense against someone else, with the result that he was sentenced to 10 days in jail and suffered rank demotion. (And while not obvious, the conviction will significantly limit his future military career too, assuming he stays in the military.) But you did not clearly say what happened with the charges for the sexual assault against you. Double jeopardy prohibits the federal government from trying him twice on the same charges. So if he was prosecuted for the attack against you and the panel cleared him of those charges after the trial then he was tried on the charges. It’s just that the government lost the case. In that event double jeopardy attaches and the federal government cannot try him again. The whole idea of double jeopardy was to prevent the government from putting a defendant on trial, losing, and then trying the defendant again and again until it wins. The rule gives the government just one try to win its case. In short, if the military took him to trial on sexual assault charges and lost then the federal government cannot try him again to try to get a different result the second time around. That is the whole purpose of double jeopardy.

However, the Supreme Court has held that a state may prosecute for the same acts even though the federal government has already tried the defendant for those same acts. Thus, the state where the sexual assault took place could still prosecute the crime for whatever violation of state law that took place. Whether the prosecutor will agree to pursue those charges is another matter. Quite often where the feds have already tried the case the state will decide not to try it itself. If the feds seriously messed up the case, that might prompt the state to try since it might be able to get a different outcome. But if the feds presented a good case and lost, there is not much reason for a state prosecutor to think he or she would have much better luck at it. Nevertheless, you may contact the prosecutor’s office for the county where the assault took place and see if it would be willing to pursue anything. The statute of limitation would still have to be open, of course, for the prosecutor to do anything.

You also have the option to sue the attacker for a judgment to compensate you for any damages you suffered as a result of the attack, e.g. medical bills for injury or trauma suffered, etc.

Understand a critical thing here, too. Not all the evidence you want presented in a trial is necessarily admissible under the rules of evidence or is helpful in the case. So while you think the federal prosecutor simply ignored the evidence you wanted used, that may not be case. It may be that under the rules of evidence it could not be used. Victims often misunderstand the trial process and why certain things may be presented and others cannot. Ideally the prosecutor would explain that to them, but that does not always happen.

 

[latigo]

New York but crime was committed in Texas.

After just returning from a pretty hard court martial trial as a victim I'm very disappointed in my trial counsel and SVC attorney for not submitting pertinent evidence that was incredibly important to be seen by the judge during the trial. Instead they half assed everything and cost my children and I having any peace or justice. I'm wondering if there is anyone with the knowledge of a victim in a court martial hearing having any ability to have a retrial or appealing the judge's decision in the case or even to be reheard? My trial counsel thought they had it in the bag without making sure that all their bases were checked. I stressed to them the importance on making sure that there was evidence that directly correlated with my character. Instead they ignored me time and time again over a year of communicating with my attorney (who I think really didn't do his job at all and just gave me the 'everything's going great' jive but it really wasn't at all) and got absolutely nowhere. Now this monster is only getting 10 days in jail and his rank demoted for a crime he committed against someone else. Nowhere close to what he should for sexual assault and assault/battery in front of small children on 3 separate counts.

Some of my witnesses were approved to be telephonically present yet were never even called. Some didn't show up to court despite a federal subpoena which would warrant a US Marshal or a Military Police Officer to make sure they get their butt to court. Instead I was totally robbed of any justice. The judge was incredibly bias and allowed the defense counsel to attack me and badger me about things that quite literally were grasping at straws and not even relevant to the court trial. Not once did the defense say he didn't abuse or rape me. Yet, he still got off the hook.

If I can't get a retrial or appeal the judge's ruling am I capable of trying this in civilian court. I know a bit about double jeopardy but he wasn't convicted in military court (?) . . . . . .

Well, it doesn't appear that you know as much about double jeopardy as you profess to know. Because the constitutional prohibition has nothing to do with a conviction or an acquittal of the criminal charges. The significant wording of the Amendment is being twice placed at risk of a conviction of the "same offense".

However, the Supreme Court's dual sovereignty doctrine provides that two different governments' laws by definition cannot describe the "same offence." (See: Heath v. Alabama, 474 U.S. 82, 93 (1985) (upholding death sentence in Alabama after guilty plea in Georgia for same murder); United States v. Lanza, 260 U.S. 377 (1922) (upholding multiple prosecutions by the state and the federal government.

This being the same doctrine by which the L. A. police officers having been acquitted in state court for the vicious beating of Rodney King were subsequently convicted in federal court under the Civil Rights Act. The same conduct yet "separate offenses; one against state law and the other in violation of federal law.

The upshot being that the doctrine of double jeopardy would not prevent the accused from being prosecuted for the same conduct in a state court. (The matter of a state court having jurisdiction being a separate issue.) Nor are your civil remedies affected.