fort riley military criminal lawyers

If you are charged in accordance to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, your basic concern should be the defense counsel who will be handling your case. In most cases, your defense attorney is not allowed to represent you until investigations are complete and you are officially facing charges for an offense. The outcome of an investigation and the sight of facing a court martial can pose a challenge that impacts you and your family. To get the best result for your case, it is advisable to hire an experienced military criminal defense lawyer who will protect your interests at every point of the case. Here are a few reasons why you need to consider hiring a private military criminal lawyer.

Experience and Skills

According to the Uniform Military Code of Justice, you have the right to legal representation by the lawyer of your choice. Furthermore, in the military, everyone is entitled to free appointed legal counsel. However, the problem with these lawyers is that you are likely to get one who has no experience and skill in military criminal cases. It is especially not a good idea to be represented by free appointed lawyers if you are facing serious felonies like child pornography and murder.

Investigations

When you are up against the military system, it is not a fair fight. The government has access to unlimited investigative and financial resources. Although you are presumed innocent until proven guilty, if you do not act quickly to hire a private criminal attorney, chances are you will be presumed guilty. Many military cases are not thoroughly investigated and authorities try their best to wrap up cases to save on tax payer’s money and to save time. The essence of a lawyer is especially significant when you are being interrogated since they can help you avoid self-incrimination. The other most important benefit of a lawyer is that they will investigate the allegations against you and identify weaknesses in facts and law that can be challenged.

Case Evaluation and Pre-trial Preparation

After investigating the allegations against you, a military defense lawyer will work together with you to ensure the charges are reduced or dismissed, and to prepare you for the best defense possible. Each case has legal and factual challenges that your lawyer can exploit to lobby for the charges to be dismissed, to negotiate a reduction of charges, or to have your case adjudicated at the lowest legal forum.

Advice, Legal Counsel, and One on One Support

A court martial is a threat to your military career. You risk losing your retirement, housing benefits, medical benefits, enlistment bonus, and you might even be registered as a sex offender and asked to refund the money used for your military education. In some cases, you may not be allowed to have a lawyer at a court martial; however, this does not imply you should attend a hearing without having independent advice and counsel from a military attorney beforehand. It is advisable to have your lawyer answer all the questions related with your court martial before you attend the hearing. An experienced lawyer will counsel you on the best way to conduct yourself; they will prepare you for questioning, and tell you how to best defend yourself.

Chain of Command

One of the main hurdles that prevent members of the military from getting justice in a military trial is the command influence. Unlawful command influence happens when senior members of the military inadvertently or intentionally use their position to influence lawyers, court members, and witnesses who are involved in a military case. Since a private military attorney is not obliged to follow a chain of command, or toe the line like free-appointed defense attorneys, they are best able to call out senior military attorneys for misconduct without fearing retribution.

When a member of the military is charged with an offense, anything could go wrong. It is easy to have your rank reduced, your benefits eliminated, and in serious cases, you could be dismissed from the military and listed as a sex offender. To improve your chances of not having to face any of these charges, it is advisable to hire a private military lawyer. In many cases, a military lawyer is well experienced and better able to challenge members of the military than a free-appointed defense lawyer. The points above provide additional benefits for hiring private legal counsel.