Oftentimes a court-martial will involve accusations that are strictly military-based like sexual assault, arson, manslaughter and lighter ones like desertion. Whether you are facing a specific or a general court-martial, you will be appointed a military defense attorney. As a military service member, you have the option of retaining the military lawyer allocated to you or get a civilian lawyer who will protect your freedoms and rights and understands your cares.
This article seeks to make it clear to you why you need to hire a civilian attorney even when you’re sure of a military one.
Time constraints
Some steps must be followed in the military for you to be charged and especially in a serious case like sexual assault. You can only receive a military defense once you’ve been charged and that will long. That time, you will have constraints in preparing your defense and you can be sure it is to your disadvantage. When you have a civilian lawyer, they have the time to prepare for the case and have navigated through the jurisdiction and comfortable to deliver justice to your favor.
You’ve got a choice of who represents you
Matters law is closely related to medicine. Not every doctor is your best and that is why when you’re sick, you opt to get a specialist who is more expensive but you’re sure they’ll treat you well. A military lawyer is just appointed and you know very little about them. You don’t want to be represented by someone whom you disagree with or whose approach you don’t like. Hiring a civilian attorney allows you to be represented by someone you are confident of their competence and one you can work well with.
Better representation
Have you ever taken time to understand why people hire more than two lawyers to handle a case? Preparing for a case involving a lot of documentation and research and therefore for a sure win, you’d better have your case handled by two or more lawyers. You have the appointed military counsel and your civilian defense lawyer. These two will work together to unravel any complexities in the case and deliver justice to your favor. Again, with the two, you know no matter the outcome, you’ve done your best.
The shortcomings with the sexual assault military counsel
Imagine the many cases that a sexual assault martial counsel could be handling. Most of these are overwhelmed with many cases and the attorney has less time to deal with a case conclusively. That means you could lose a case that would otherwise be a win. A sexual assault court-martial lawyer is working for you and they’re ready to deliver justice. They have enough time to get everything ready and will work hard to ensure that you succeed.
A civilian sexual assault lawyer will understand you better
Any lawyer who represents you should be someone you understand one that is approachable. A martial counsel is given randomly and you only get to know them when you’re charged. You may never understand them and that could render you restless, not knowing your verdict.
It looks cheap getting a military counsel for free. If you get someone you are not compatible with, then you lose that case. Get a reliable sexual assault lawyer who will fight for you and deliver justice to your favor.