Honolulu Courts-Martial Lawyer

Experience Defending Courts-Martial and UCMJ Cases

You are serving your country in the military. The United States military is the most powerful military in the world. Since you are in the military, you know its power and might. You understand the advantage of preparation beforehand, and you know that the military collects intelligence, analyzes it, prepares a battle plan, and executes it.

Have you already been interrogated, or have you already provided a statement? Have you already received a charge sheet? You are facing a court-martial.

I have substantial experience defending those facing the following charges:

1. General Courts-Martial
2. Special Courts-Martial
3. Administrative Separation

The time to act is now. You cannot take your chances – you need a proper defense if you want to protect your future and your freedom.

Call dedicated Honolulu Courts-Martial defense attorney, Kevin O’Grady, to discuss your case.

Invoke Your Rights and Remain Silent

Do not say anything to anyone! Do not try to feel out the situation or explain your side with your staff NCO, Chief, 1SG, or commander. These former comrades are not your friends any longer. They will report to law enforcement what you tell them. Whether they support you or not, they will provide your information and whatever they know to law enforcement. Invoke your Article 31 rights clearly, loudly, and often. The only way the command can support you is to not ask you any questions.

The military does not assign you your own personal military defense counsel until you have been formally charged. When law enforcement or the command is doing the XOI, or the 15-6, CID, or CIS are interrogating you, you do not have an assigned military defense attorney. You are alone.

What you can do before you are formally charged is hire a civilian defense attorney. If you think the command is initiating an investigation or that CID is going to tell you to come down to make a statement, take action and call a civilian defense lawyer.

Remember, hire your civilian defense attorney now and invoke your Article 31 rights as quickly as possible.

Who Does the Military Assign to Defend You?

Most likely it is a junior officer. The junior officer likely does not have trial experience and they will often try to get you to plead out immediately. Sometimes, these officers have been attorneys for only a few years, or maybe even just a few months. Prior to handling your criminal case, they may have been handling claims for lost household goods, or environmental law. This new O3 now has your Court-Martial and your future in his hands.

You Are Now Seen as the Enemy – Get the Defense You Need

You are now the enemy—the entire might of the United States military is arrayed against you. The Command must make the decision to prosecute you and law enforcement in the military is relentless. MPI, Naval CIS, OSI, and CID are effectively the intelligence arms in the Court-Martial process. You probably are unaware of all of the investigative work they have already done when they finally interrogate you.

Law enforcement is looking for evidence to convict you and their interrogators will do everything in their power to do just that.

• They will use the same skills and tricks they use on terrorists to interrogate you.
• They will get you when you are tired.
• They will isolate you.
• They will "process" you, taking your picture and fingerprints.
• They will place you in a bare and spartan room.
• They will blow through your rights advisement
• They may not even advise you of your rights at all.
• They will hold you for hours.

They may call it an "interview." Your commander, Chief, 1SG, Platoon Sergeant, or Staff NCO may ask you to tell "your side of the story," to "clear the air," to "explain yourself," or to "do the right thing and own up to what you did." They will tell you that this is the only opportunity you will have to “set the record straight”. You might have been the "go to" service member before, but now they consider you untouchable and want you out now!

Do not risk your future – call Kevin O’Grady today.

Work With a Qualified Hawaii Military Defense Lawyer

My name is Kevin O'Grady, and I am a hard-working and relentless Honolulu military defense attorney. I have handled cases both in and out of the military system. I bring more than 19 years of experience and extensive knowledge of the military justice system to the battle.

I have served as a Judge Advocate in the U.S. Army and have experience as a Trial Counsel (Prosecutor), Senior Trial Counsel (Senior Prosecutor), Article 32 Preliminary Hearing Officer (This is akin to a Judge at a preliminary hearing to a General Court-Martial) and also as a BJA (Brigade Judge Advocate). I have been trained on the most recent law regarding the prosecution of Sexual Assault cases. I currently serve as a BJA, in a reserve unit, as a Major. I have also served as both a Special Assistant United States Prosecutor, Deputy Prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney in the civilian courts. Because of my legal background, I serve as a strong choice for your defense in your military case.

I have represented numerous individuals accused in Courts-Martial, and have experience in the military criminal justice system including the following cases:

• Sexual Assault (old versions of the UCMJ and new)
• Desertion
• Solicitation
• Absent Without Leave
• Missed Movement
• Assault
• Insubordinate Conduct
• Failure to Obey an Order
• Cruelty (Including Sexual Harassment)
• Resisting Apprehension
• False Official Statements
• Loss/Destruction of Military Property
• Drunk Driving
• Drunk on Duty
• Wrongful Use/Possession of Controlled Substances
• Malingering
• Manslaughter
• Rape
• Aggravated Sexual Assault
• Aggravated Sexual Assault Of Child
• Abusive Sexual Conduct
• Indecent Acts
• Larceny
• Sodomy
• Housebreaking
• Conduct Unbecoming an Officer
• Adultery
• Child Endangerment
• Fraternization
• Obstruction of Justice
• Patronizing a Prostitute
• Reckless Endangerment
• Communicating a Threat
• Child pornography

What Would You Spend to Protect Yourself?

Compare what you pay for and what you get:

1) Your assigned military counsel is probably a newly minted lawyer and a newly minted officer. He's probably young and inexperienced. The stereotypical mindset here is to work with the other side to avoid court congestion, inconvenience to the General, the military, the command, the Court-Martial members, and to seek a plea deal. Experience is stereotypically limited.

2) With a qualified criminal defense and Court-Martial attorney, such as myself, you receive a wealth of experience. Over a span of more than 19 years, I have gained legal experience in both military and civilian courts, as both a prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney. I have a reputation for being aggressive and thorough, and for taking the government to task, no matter how long it takes and no matter what it takes. The assumption here is that we go to trial and win. That is what we prepare for from the beginning. The alternative plans are dismissal through legal, technical, and factual challenges, and of course working whatever plea bargain the government offers to the best advantage of the client.

Consequences of Military Crime in Hawaii

Once the military has decided to act, it does so with the might and strength of the United States. Whether it is an XOI/AR15-6/RCM 303 investigation, Captain's Mast (Article 15), an ADSEP, or a Court-Martial, if the Command has decided to act, they do it militarily. That is, they do it all the way.

They are not trying to help you. A letter of reprimand or a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand, does not help you. An Article 15, which is loss of rank and pay, does not help you. An ADSEP, or kicking you out with an OTH (other than honorable) discharge, does not help you.

At a court-martial, you are looking at a number of possible consequences, including:

• Federal convictions
• Punitive discharge
• Military prison
• Loss of military pay and benefits
• Loss of your right to possess or carry a weapon
• Lifetime requirement to register as a sex offender (in certain cases)
• Loss of your reputation

Although military prison and a felony conviction are obvious penalties that are easy to recognize when facing a general Court-Martial, do not discount how devastating it will be to lose your monthly pay, your health insurance, your medical benefits, coverage for your wife and children, survivor benefit plans, access to the commissary, and of course your good name and reputation.

A Poor Defense Could Cost You Your Entire Livelihood

You have been busy defending America and have probably never sat in on a Court-Martial and heard the part when the loss of pay is calculated. Assume just for a moment that this is just basic pay.

An E4 with two years of time in 2011 earns $2,014.20 per month. This doesn't include other benefits such as:

• BAS
• BAH
• COLA
• Hazard pay
• Sea pay
• Combat zone pay
• Separation pay
• Access to healthcare
• GI bill benefits
• Retirement pay
• Survivor benefit program
• TSP
• Medical coverage (TRICARE)
• Access to the commissary

This also doesn't even include any promotions, increases in pay based on time in service, or raises in pay from Congress—just static basic pay.

Remember what your pay would look like outside the military, in today's economy—what private medical insurance for you and your family would cost, what it costs to raise a family without the child development center for daycare and groceries from the commissary, military life insurance valued at $450,000, etc.

Assume you have two more years in your enlistment and you were not planning on making the military a career. Just those two years at that pay rate is $48,340.80. Even if you were just facing an Article 15 and a good attorney could possibly limit your reduction in rank to no loss of rank or loss of just one rank as opposed to more, you would be much better off. Now imagine you are looking at promotion, you are a higher rank, you have served longer, or you are looking at retirement.

Avoiding a punitive discharge can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars of future income.

Also, remember that even if you don't go to prison, if you have a dishonorable discharge or a bad conduct discharge you will still find it nearly impossible to find a good-paying job. Invest wisely and consider the cost-benefit analysis of hiring a civilian defense attorney, and weigh it against losing everything.

Honolulu Courts-Martial Attorney With History of Successful Results

As a Hawaii military defense attorney, I have obtained many beneficial results for my clients, including numerous DUI case dismissals, defense against assault charges, and other military crimes. A few of these results include full dismissals, retention instead of a punitive discharge allowing service members to retire, zero prison time, reduced prison time, retention at administrative separation boards, and further investigations that result in no charges being filed.

If you think or know there is a criminal investigation occurring, contact my Hawaii defense firm today!