The Law Office of Gilbert J. Comley

Happy Holidays Servicemembers – safe travels and be nice to all who you encounter, when you fail or are alleged to have failed in the latter, call your advocate, The Soldiers’ Advocate, 270-360-0142. 

Pre-trial confinement – Congress, please take a look at how the system really works and who stands behind the decision on continued pre-trial confinement or release (the meaningful process that takes place 7-10 (10 when extended for good cause) days after a SM is ordered into confinement) . . . I’ll give you advanced notice, it’s a lawyer, a Judge Advocate – not a Commander.

More often than not, that Judge Advocate, serving as a Military Magistrate, orders release after determining one or more of the following (examined under a preponderance of the evidence standard – Government’s burden):

(1) There no probable cause supporting the commission of a crime or that the accused committed said crime;

(2) It’s not necessary to continue confinement because it’s not foreseeable that the Accused will skip out on scheduled proceedings or commit additional serious criminal misconduct; or

(3) There are lesser forms of restraint available to the command that would adequately secure the presence and avoid future indiscipline of the Accused.

*This process has many procedural protections for all interested parties (the Accused, commands, and Victims), and the military has no bail because the commands are under a legal obligation (duty) to safeguard the Parties to Court-Martial proceedings and the Process – to ensure the appearance of the Accused and Others who have a role in the Military Justice system.

I urge you to learn more about the community and culture before you judge its practices to be problematic and legislate changes based on statistical anomalies / sensational tragedies.

Specific to your examination of the process, don’t become consumed with the initial decision to order confinement or not – that’s as perilous as examining a civilian judge’s decision to deny or grant bail. In the military, there’s a Lawyer advising on that initial command decision to order confinement and (in my experience) when the Lawyer is recommending confinement, the commander ensures it happens. The opposite was not always the case (commanders would often order confinement despite a Lawyer’s recommendation against it). #congress #military #army #lawyer #defenseattorney #thesoldiersadvocate #liberty #justice

https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2022/09/20/congresswoman-calls-for-examination-of-military-pretrial-confinement/