A Court-Martial Trial is Like a War—the Goal is Winning at Any Cost, and it Can Be Ruthless

Given the hyper focus on sexual assault and other sex crimes prevention and prosecution in the military, does an accused service member have any chance of winning at trial?  

ABSOLUTELY!

But only if you view it as a war and do everything in your power to win.  That’s what the government is going to do. And make no mistake, the government’s sexual crimes prosecutors are a formidable foe, possessing both skill and vast resources. 

With this uneven playing field, it’s unsurprising that innocent Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airman, and Coast Guard members are repeatedly being prosecuted and wrongfully convicted. All so commanders, often driven by political considerations, can tout that that they are tough on sexual assault and other sex crimes. The guilt or innocence of the accused is often an afterthought.       

With this mentality, it hardly matters if the allegation of sexual assault is credible.  It hardly matters if there is evidence that the alleged victim lied or that there was strong motive to make up the allegations.  And it hardly matters that the alleged victim seemingly has some “special” ability to “remember” that she did not consent even after testifying that she remembers nothing due to alcohol intoxication.  

For the service member, the stakes could not be higher.  EVERYTHING IS AT RISK: your military career, your reputation, your freedom, and the quality of the rest of your life.

• If convicted of a sex crime, you will likely have to register as a sex offender and be put on a public list for all to see—your friends, your family, your neighbors.  There are actually trailer parks that specialize in housing sex offenders because they can’t live anywhere else.
• The impact is crushing. Registered sex offenders become outcasts because they are branded as criminals and sexual predators who prey on children—it doesn’t matter if it is true or not.
• Considering the consequences of a guilty verdict, this is not the time to go with the new guy.  

Our attorney have seen cases where the alleged victim changed her story multiple times and the command still sent the case to trial.

Our attorneys have seen cases where the alleged victim has been caught lying and even committed a crime, but the case still went to trial. We have even seen cases where the accused has passed a lie detector test, yet the case still went to trial.  

And at trial, the government wages a war to win—to secure a conviction—using all of its immense resources. And if that’s not bad enough, it often uses sneaky law-enforcement tactics to obtain coerced confessions, fails to test potentially exculpatory forensic evidence, routinely deny defense experts and other witnesses for the defense, and bring 3 and even 4 experienced lawyers to prosecute the case while an accused service member is assigned just one free military lawyer, who is often inexperienced and may not even want to be a defense counsel at all.

Understand, a court-martial trial is a war that the government intends on winning at any cost. You need a legal team with the same mentality.        

World-Class Distinction at Every Level

Although based in Hawaii, our court-martial attorneys travel worldwide to defend military clients and primarily focus on defending sex crimes, financial fraud, drug crimes, and other violent criminal offenses.

Our lawyers have distinguished themselves at every level as litigators in the military judicial system: as defense counsel, as prosecutors, and as appellate defense counsel at the highest military courts in the land.  As a result, not only do we know the system from top to bottom, we also know how your government opponent thinks because we’ve sat through the same type of training that they have. 

Because it is rare to have experience at all three of these litigation levels, you can rest assured that you have come to the right place for help.    

We’ll Fight for You with Ruthless Determination

Stated bluntly, a service member accused of a committing a crime in the military is in a terrible spot, but it is CAN be overcome. Retaining the right defense team can be the difference between prison or freedom, guilt or exoneration. If you have been attacked with allegations of rape, sexual assault, or any other sex crime under the UCMJ, you need a law firm with experience at EVERY level of litigation, not just one or two. 

If you’re serious about fighting back against military prosecutors and the charges you’re facing, contact Tipon & Liebenguth today and learn how we would aggressively investigate, prepare, and defend your case.

Sexual Assault Court-Martial Defense Practice Areas

• Rape and Sexual Assault Defense
• Rape and Sexual Assault of a Minor Defense
• Male-On-Male Sexual Assault
• Female-On-Female Sexual Assault
• Child Pornography Defense
• Sting Operation Defense
• Sexual Offender Registration (SORNA)
• SHARP/SAPR Defense