Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney for Active Duty Military
I spent 10 years on active duty in the Navy JAG Corps and now I am a civilian attorney located in Jacksonville, FL. I routinely represent active duty Navy, Army, and Marine Corps members who are facing Florida state criminal charges in Duval, Nassau, and St. Johns counties. Because Jacksonville is a fleet concentration area for the Navy, there are many attorneys soliciting business of military members who find themselves in trouble with the law. The reality is that most, if not all, of these attorneys do not have the situational awareness to provide the best advice to an active duty or reserve military member.
Fact #1: Florida Pretrial Intervention Will Be Considered as a Guilty Finding for the Military
Many defense attorneys will advise military clients to accept pretrial intervention in a case and inform the member that because it is not a conviction, the military will not be able to do anything. Nothing else could be further from the truth.
First, pretrial intervention is sometimes the best option in light of the facts and evidence of the case. If the State has the evidence, and there is no defense, it is a great option. And, it is true that the State of Florida does not look at pretrial intervention as a conviction. However, military regulations relating to administrative separation consider an agreement to enter pretrial intervention as tantamount to admitting the charge.
This gets even more complicated with the Lautenberg_Amendment, which prohibits carrying a firearm if you have been convicted of certain crimes of domestic violence. Each military branch has its own regulation governing the implementation of the Lautenberg Amendment.
Fact #2: The Military Is Not Bound By a State Court
The military is a federal entity and it is not bound by state law or state court action. It follows its own regulations. Thus, even if a state court dismisses a charge, the military can still pursue it. In certain circumstances, the military can even retry a military member who was previously convicted in a state court.
Here is a great example: I had a Sailor come see me who told me he had the best defense attorney in town who got his charges dismissed. Five days later, the military charged him, and he was later convicted and sentenced to a bad conduct discharge and five years in the brig. Had the state defense attorney reached a reasonable plea agreement with the state for a couple months of jail time, the military would have never prosecuted.
Fact #3: Security Clearances Are in Play
Every active duty member of the military now has some type of security clearance. An arrest and/or conviction can greatly impact that clearance. Most criminal defense attorneys have no idea about a clearance and other administrative consequences.
Fact #4: Self-Reporting Is Ripe for Abuse
Sailors and Marines have a duty to report an arrest to a command. Without independent evidence of the underlying offenses, a command cannot take disciplinary action against the member. Most criminal defense attorneys and military members don’t know this, or, if they do, don’t understand it.
Mr. Korody has successfully litigated a self-reporting case that was upheld at the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. He was certified by the Judge Advocate General of the Navy as a Specialist in Military Justice Litigation. He routinely represents members of the military community in or near Jacksonville, Florida in state court facing charges of drug possession, DUI, domestic violence, assault, theft, and sexual battery.