Senior Officer (O-5) Commanding Officer was taken to non-judicial punishment for an at sea collision with a commercial vessel. The detachment for cause was successfully avoided, and the officer was permitted to retire at his pay grade.
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Senior Officer (O-5) Commanding Officer was taken to non-judicial punishment for an at sea collision with a commercial vessel. The detachment for cause was successfully avoided, and the officer was permitted to retire at his pay grade.
Senior Officer (O-6) post-command officer was accused of adultery. After a lengthy investigation, the matter was resolved administratively with a non-punitive letter of caution with no permanent adverse military personnel file entries.
Senior Officer (O-6) Chaplain was accused of multiple instances of adultery and misconduct with a congregation member. Criminal disposition was successfully avoided, and the matter was resolved administratively.
Senior Officer (O-6) Commanding Officer was accused of sexual misconduct by a crew member. After an extensive investigation, the criminal investigation was closed without substantiation, and the CO finished his command tour successfully.
Senior Officer (O-6) Commanding Officer was accused of abusive leadership by multiple personnel through IG and formal 1150 complaints from various officers from the command. The CO was not relieved of duty, and the matters were closed with no permanent adverse military personnel file entries.
Senior Officer (O-6) was the subject of an IG complaint from a disgruntled civilian subordinate concerning leadership style and management of personnel. After a thorough investigation and multiple interviews, the matter was closed with corrective counseling with no permanent adverse military personnel file entries.
Our client was a 20-year officer in the U.S. Army Reserve. While working in his civilian capacity as a government contractor, he was charged with the possession of pornography on a government computer system. He was summarily fired from his contractor job and his Army Reserve command initiated administrative discharge proceedings against him. He hired JAG Defense to represent him at his Board of Inquiry. At his Board, we were able to demonstrate that the alleged misconduct occurred only in his civilian position, not when he was serving as a member of the Army Reserve. In addition, we showed that the “pornography” was really the sharing of Facebook “memes” with his wife, who was deployed at the time. While some of these “memes” were fairly explicit, we argued that they did not rise to the level of “pornography.” Result: The Board of Inquiry voted 3-0 that our client had NOT possessed pornography as a member of the Army Reserve and RETAINED him in the Army.
A Navy Sailor was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and rape following an altercation with his girlfriend. The charges included allegations that he punched, strangled, and smothered his girlfriend before slamming her head into the floor until she lost consciousness. The girlfriend then claimed that the Sailor raped her while she was unconscious. During the incident, the girlfriend managed to call a friend’s voicemail, which captured the audio of the Sailor yelling and making threats, as well as the sound of a physical altercation. There was also significant DNA and other forensic evidence collected by NCIS, as well as witnesses who heard the physical altercation. After being charged by the Navy and while awaiting a court-martial, the Sailor was involved in a second altercation with a different girlfriend, which led to additional charges of aggravated assault. The Sailor was facing the possibility of life imprisonment and a sex offender registration. Prior to JAG Defense involvement, the most favorable pretrial offer from the prosecution was that the Sailor had to plead guilty to all charges in order to receive a confinement cap of 12 years. The Sailor’s family hired JAG Defense to represent him at his court-martial. Over a period of months, JAG Defense negotiated an initial pretrial deal where the government agreed to dismiss the attempted murder charge and all but one assault charge for each victim. The government intended to attempt to prove the rape charge. During the course of our preparation to contest the rape charge, JAG Defense uncovered DNA evidence that was extremely damaging to the government’s case and definitively proved that the victim had lied about the sexual assault. As a result, the government dismissed the rape charge the night before the Sailor’s court-martial was to begin. Result: Attempted Murder and Rape Charges Dismissed. Client guilty only of lesser assault charges and will be released from confinement in less than a year. No sex offender registration.
A Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps was initially charged with eight (8) specifications of child pornography possession, distribution, and viewing. Later, the USMC charged him with five (5) specifications of Sexual Abuse of a Child and one (1) specification of Attempted Sexual Abuse of a Child. All together, the charges against our client carried the possibility of almost 200 years of confinement. At the Article 32 hearing, our cross-examination of the NCIS agent demonstrated the weakness of the government’s case on the child pornography charges. Using that as leverage, we negotiated a plea agreement with the government where our client accepted responsibility for Abusive Sexual Contact with a minor (for sending sexually explicit texts and emails). In exchange, the government agreed to Withdraw and Dismiss With Prejudice all remaining charges against our client. He was sentenced to “time served” and released from confinement that day. While he did receive a punitive discharge, he will not have register as a sex offender in his home state.
Our client, a Navy O-3, went TAD to Ghana. Following the trip, one of his disgruntled Sailors started circulating rumors that our client engaged in repeated sexual activities with Ghanaian foreign nationals, despite the fact that he was married. These rumors swirled around the command for months before an anonymous tip was made to NCIS only days before our client was set to PCS. After a rushed and laughingly inept “investigation,” our client was offered nonjudicial punishment, which he refused. The command referred his case to Navy BUPERS, who ordered our client to show cause for retention at a Board of Inquiry for alleged violations of Article 92, 133, and 134, UCMJ. At the Board, we presented overwhelming evidence of our client’s exceptional Naval career and integrity, as well as evidence that the accusing Sailor had a reputation for exaggerating and spreading rumors. Result: After only 10 minutes of deliberations, the Board voted 3-0 that our client committed NO MISCONDUCT and to RETAIN him in the Navy.
Grover H. Baxley is the founding attorney of JAG Defense. As a former member of the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps, Mr. Baxley now provides highly experienced representation for military members in all branches of service all over the world.
Thomas M. Rodrigues retired from active duty as a Colonel in 2019 after serving 23 years in the Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps. Colonel Rodrigues has extensive experience in military justice, litigation and administrative processes.
Navy E-7 was charged with Aggravated Sexual Assault following a night of partying with his female Division Officer and other junior Sailors. His Division Officer alleged that he sexually assaulted her while she was substantially incapacitated due to intoxication. At trial, our cross-examination of the alleged victim highlighted the various inconsistencies in her story, as well as a significant motive to fabricate her allegations against our client. Result: The Officer and Enlisted Member Panel found our client NOT GUILTY of Aggravated Sexual Assault.
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