In criminal law, the purpose of a court ordering restitution is to make a victim who suffered a loss from the criminal activity of the defendant “whole.”  Making a victim “whole” means financially reimbursing the defendant for losses including out-of-pocket expenses related to the criminal activity.  Making a victim whole, however, doesn’t necessarily mean the […]

Just like every member of the military – including the brand new E-1 – Navy SEALs have to take random urinalysis at least once per year.  Last week, it was widely publicized that ten enlisted Navy SEALs and a Naval Special Warfare support Sailor popped positive for controlled substances in drug tests and now face […]

On December 10, 2016, James Clapper, then the Director of National Intelligence, issued revised National Security Adjudicative Guidelines to become effective June 8, 2017.  As background, the Adjudicative Guidelines are used by the executive agencies, including the Department of Defense (DoD), to determine initial or continued eligibility for access to classified information or eligibility to […]

Article 112a, UCMJ, Wrongful Use of a Controlled Substance, has two related elements: (1) use of a controlled substance, that is (2) wrongful.  The term “controlled substance” is defined in Article 112a, UCMJ, in three ways: (1) by what is listed in the text of the article, (2) through reference to a schedule as prescribed […]

I have a passion for defending military members who have tested positive on a military urinalysis.  I am motivated, in part, by the military’s unwillingness to concede that mistakes have been made and innocent service members have been separated based on positive drug tests when they never used the drugs.  Because the average military member […]

In the midst of the military’s war on sexual assault, military commanders succumbed to political pressures on a daily basis, often sending good servicemembers to court-martial for sexual assault based on bare accusations.  As one of the Navy’s Special Victims Prosecutors, I often fought a war behind closed doors with staff judge advocates and commanders, […]

In my post almost 6 months ago in which I discussed the USS Fitzgerald collision off the coast of Japan and the law governing hazarding a vessel (can be found here), I predicted the CO would be relieved and face disciplinary action that could include court-martial charges. Now widely publicized, the former Fitzgerald and McCain […]

The SMARTEST thing anyone suspect in a criminal investigation can do is keep his or her mouth shut.  Don’t say anything.  Don’t try to explain how it’s just a big misunderstanding.  And most importantly, don’t ever, ever admit to anything that constitutes an admission or a crime. Some smart JAG with the Army’s appellate defense […]

In NAVADMIN 304/17, the Navy cancelled the provisions of the Military Personnel Manual (MILPERSMAN) that permit the service to separate enlisted members for two or more Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA) failures.  The message also cancelled certain pending separations for PFA failure and permitted certain Sailors pending separation for PFA failure to opt to remain the […]

The Navy is sending more officers to Boards of Inquiry. The average officer misconduct case takes 12-18 months to get to a Board of Inquiry. Board members are separating more officers. In recent years, there has been an increased number of Boards of Inquiry (BOIs) – also called “Show Cause Proceedings” – convened for Naval […]