Whether it is a civilian criminal trial or a court-martial, these situations tend to be quite stressful for any accused. You may have to appear before the court for alleged involvement in rape, drugs, theft, domestic violence, mutiny, desertion, being drunk on duty, etc. You must realize that it can be serious if your commanding officer decides to take any action against you. Hence, you cannot afford to ignore the implications. Sometimes, you get a military defense lawyer from the government, just as you get one in civilian courts. If you get one already, you may not feel the need to look for someone from outside.
However, you have to be careful with your decision. Military disciplinary action and its judgment can ruin your career and life. If you or someone from your family faces a military criminal investigation, you need an experienced military court-martial lawyer to represent the case. Their know-how of martial law can be the ultimate savior. In essence, there are various benefits of hiring one for your case.
The benefit of hiring a military legal defense attorney
When you hire a military legal practitioner, you can trust them to handle different types of cases. Choosing someone who has been a prosecutor and a defense lawyer can be specifically advantageous as they would know how things work on either side. After all, military crimes call for severe punishment. You can face jail, lose wages and perks, get deposed from ranks or shameful discharge from duty, etc. As such, the military defense lawyer sent by the government can remain on the case even if you hire one externally. The assigned lawyer can help your attorney in the case.
The process of hiring a defense lawyer for court-martial
When you determine you need a military attorney, you would have to find out one who can be trustworthy and qualified. You can search on the internet or get in touch with the local bar association for background information and contact details. You can shortlist a few from there and prepare a list of questions to analyze whether the person concerned can solve your problem. You can ask them about the consultation process, the number of cases of your type they handled, and their results, and so on.
You can try to find out a few things about their recent cases and experiences. Plus, you have to understand whether they know the judges and prosecuting attorneys who would be there in your case. In the end, you have to enquire about their fees and payment systems. Make sure you also confirm in the beginning about the down payment.
Since it can be frightening to face any criminal charge, regardless of whether you serve the navy, army, or air force, you wouldn’t want to take any risk with your name and position. Once proven guilty, you would have to bear the burden of court-martial for the entire life. And your family would suffer too. Hence, if you suspect any misgivings, you should immediately start preparations from your end, which essentially include getting hold of a specialist defense attorney.
