Criminal Charges Against Military Personnel
COURTS-MARTIAL - ABSENCE WITHOUT LEAVE / DESERTION - ADMINISTRATIVE SEPARATION BOARDS - RAPE - SEXUAL ASSAULT CASES - POSITIVE URINALYSIS CASES
If you are the subject of an investigation by military authorities, or if you are faced with adverse action being taken against you by the military, you need to have competent legal representation by an experienced trial attorney who will provide you with sound legal advice and aggressively defend your rights. Attorney Greg D. McCormack will provide you with the experienced legal representation you need, at any U.S. military facility in the world.
Your best line of defense of a Courts-Martial, Board of Inquiry or an Administrative Separation Action is your lawyer. You need a well-seasoned attorney who is not afraid to stand up to the senior officers or the judge and jury to fight for you. Let there be no mistake, your future depends in many respects upon the ability and aggressiveness of your lawyer. The military’s criminal litigation process is very difficult to understand and your lawyer needs to know the system to be able to provide the best legal advice to you. Attorney Greg McCormack will give you an honest appraisal of your situation and if retained, we will strive to secure the best possible resolution of your case.
Greg McCormack’s initial experience as a prosecutor and defense attorney with the Army JAG Corps from 1979-1982 serves as the foundation upon which his reputation is now based. Since leaving active duty in 1982, he has represented countless military clients around the world and has established a firm reputation as an extremely aggressive attorney who will not hesitate to do what is necessary within the boundaries of the law to secure an acquittal or the best result for his clients. With his vast level of courts-martial and administrative law experience, he knows how to effectively deal with the military. Take a few moments to review some of the representative cases in this Web site to get a feel for the kind of cases our firm has successfully handled over the years.
COURTS-MARTIAL
If you are facing a Courts-Martial, or an Administrative Separation action, you need a well seasoned lawyer who is not afraid to stand up to the senior officers, the judge and the jury to fight for you. Your future depends upon the aggressiveness, and abilities of your lawyer. Understand that in many cases, actual innocence or guilt is NOT controlling – innocent people do get convicted and just because you may have actually committed the crime does NOT mean you need to be convicted. Greg McCormack’s initial experience with military criminal law was as a prosecutor with the Army from 1979-1981, and then as a military defense attorney until he left active duty in 1982. Since that time, he has represented countless military clients around the world and has established a firm reputation as an extremely aggressive attorney who will not hesitate to do what is necessary within the boundaries of the law to secure an acquittal or favorable result for his clients.
DEFENSE OF RAPE, SODOMY AND SEXUAL ASSAULT CHARGES
Since leaving active duty in 1982, Greg McCormack has successfully represented numerous service members in defense of charges of rape, sodomy and sexual assault. A conviction for rape, sodomy and sexual assault charges can be devastating in all respects – not only will a conviction likely result in a punitive discharge and lengthy period of confinement, the life long implications of having to register as a sex offender will undoubtedly change a person’s life in ways that are literally unimaginable. Over the years, the law has become very protective of the rights of the rape "victim," which significantly creates additional evidentiary hurdles for the defense lawyer in a rape or sexual assault trial.
Mr. McCormack's experience in defending rape, sodomy and sexual assault cases is such that he has the ability to recognize evidentiary issues that may lie ahead and develop a trial strategy that is best suited to overcome those obstacles to the extent possible under the law. His cross-examination skills have been honed over time to the point where he knows when to aggressively confront the "victim" with vigorous cross-examination, or instead, to conduct methodical, but low key cross-examination in a method that reduces the risk of sympathy flowing to the "victim," yet effectively drawing out information which is designed to lead to the acquittal of his client.
INTERNET CRIMES
Although the internet has made remarkable changes in our daily lives, it has also brought into play a new area of criminal offenses that did not exist several years ago - internet crimes. Many people seem to believe that what they do on the internet, in the privacy of their homes, is no one else's business; regrettably, that is not the case. Law enforcement agencies are expending a tremendous amount of time investigating the use of the internet for offenses related to children. We are seeing more and more cases coming to us in which our clients have been apprehended after viewing and/or distributing child pornography in the secrecy of their homes. The most recent trend that is catching a lot of attention is the on-line solicitation of children for sexual activity. We are also seeing many cases related to the use of government computers for pornography - both child and adult.
Our office has handled numerous offenses related to the internet. A conviction for these offenses can not only lead to the loss of a military career and significant confinement, but also require the person to be registered as a sex offender under federal and state sex offender registration laws. We are well prepared to provide an aggressive defense to criminal charges related to the internet.
AWOL CASES - MILITARY DESERTION
If you are absent without authority, or in a deserter status, you have a major problem on your hands. As you are probably aware, once you are absent for more than 30 days, you are declared a deserter and a federal warrant is issued for your arrest. A simple speeding ticket by your local police can result in your immediate arrest, transfer back to the military, confinement, a punitive discharge and a federal conviction that will be on your record for the rest of your life. If you are ready to bring your problems to a conclusion, we can assist you. We will coordinate your return to the military, in many cases in a manner to avoid any pre-trial confinement, and thereafter we will endeavor to secure your administrative discharge from the military, hopefully avoiding any criminal record or confinement. If your command insists on a Courts-Martial, we will attempt to secure a favorable disposition to minimize the long term effects upon you.
POSITIVE DRUG URINALYSIS - DRUG POSSESSION AND ABUSE
All branches of the military employ a very active drug testing program. On a regular basis, military members are required to submit urine samples which are sent to various Department of Defense testing laboratories for analysis. If a member’s sample tests positive for a drug, there can be dire consequences, to include the use of these test results to prosecute military members in courts-martial. At the very least, most branches of the military require “mandatory discharge processing” for those who test positive on a urinalysis test.
When a member of the military tests positive on a urinalysis for illegal drugs, he will face adverse action which will very likely lead to the termination of his career, as well as a possible federal conviction and confinement. Greg McCormack has defended hundreds of urinalysis cases over the years and he will provide extremely aggressive representation in a Courts-Martial or Administrative Separation action. If you have tested positive for drugs, it is crucial that you seek out competent legal advice BEFORE you make any statements or accept Non-Judicial Punishment.
Typically, the only evidence the government produces of a military member’s alleged drug use is a positive urinalysis test. As a result, the accuracy of the urinalysis test is crucial in these types of cases. At McCormack and McCormack we specialize in representing military members who have allegedly tested positive on a urinalysis test. While drug testing in the military is certainly necessary, it is not a foolproof process. Greg McCormack and his paralegals are extremely experienced in analyzing collection and testing procedures to ascertain whether the urinalysis test’s collection and testing were conducted properly.
Even if a drug test was conducted and tested properly, the presence of a drug in one’s body is not a crime. Instead, it is the “knowing and conscious” use of a drug that is a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Thus, if a military member unknowingly or innocently ingested a controlled substance, they are not guilty of a crime. Such a defense, however, can be very complicated and dependent on many different factors, such as the nanogram level indicated in the positive drug test. At McCormack and McCormack, we thoroughly investigate all positive urinalysis cases to determine whether the test result was due to an unknowing or innocent ingestion. We have extensive experience in presenting evidence, or even just the possibility, of an unknowing or innocent ingestion to juries and member panels.
If you have been informed that your urine allegedly tested positive for a controlled substance, call McCormack and McCormack for a free consultation regarding your case. We have consistently achieved outstanding results using a variety of different defenses in these types of cases, and encourage you to review our list of representative cases.
NON-JUDICIAL PUNISHMENT REPRESENTATION - ARTICLE 15 & CAPTAIN'S MAST
The decision to accept or refuse non-judicial punishment (Art. 15, Captains Mast, Office Hours) is one that has many implications and can play a major role in bringing your military career to an abrupt end. Regrettably, there are many factors to be considered and you need the assistance and counseling of a lawyer with extensive military experience to help you make the best decision. Frequently the knee jerk reaction is to refuse non-judicial punishment, but to do so puts you at risk of a federal conviction that will be on your record for the rest of your life, as well as possible confinement and punitive discharge. On the other hand, while accepting NJP may minimize the immediate adverse consequences, it can quickly lead to the end of your career, especially for officers or senior enlisted members. One of the most important considerations is the fact that if you appear before NJP, you will most likely not receive what we would consider to be a fair hearing - regrettably our experience has been that the commander's mind is usually made up before the hearing, so if you accept NJP, you better be prepared to be found guilty and be punished accordingly. In many cases, the imposition of NJP is the first step in adverse action the command will take to separate you from the service, possible with a discharge characterized as under "Other than Honorable Conditions". Our office will provide legal advice to anyone who is facing non-judicial punishment action. We will assist in gathering the facts necessary to make an informed decision whether to accept or refuse NJP and if you elect to accept NJP, we will assist you in preparing your appeal as well as a rebuttal to a letter of reprimand if imposed.