LewWaters Admin
Joined: 18 May 2004 Posts: 4042 Location: Washington State
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Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2007 4:39 am Post subject: Iraq war objector’s trial halted - Ehren Watada |
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Quote: | Iraq war objector’s trial halted
Watada accused of refusing to be deployed to Iraq, saying war is illegal
The Associated Press
Updated: 5:59 p.m. PT Oct 5, 2007
TACOMA, Wash. - A federal court judge has temporarily blocked a court-martial scheduled to start Tuesday for an Iraq war objector based at Fort Lewis.
First Lt. Ehren Watada is charged with refusing to deploy to Iraq. His lawyers argue the Army is violating his constitutional rights by trying him twice for the same crime.
U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle ruled he has jurisdiction to issue the stay and that Watada's double-jeopardy claim is not frivolous.
Watada is accused of missing his unit’s deployment in June 2006 and of conduct unbecoming an officer for making public comments denouncing President Bush and the Iraq war.
If convicted, he could be sentenced to six years in prison and be dishonorably discharged.
“This is a remarkably clear case of an egregious violation of the double-jeopardy clause,” Watada’s lawyers, James Lobsenz and Kenneth Kagan, wrote in an emergency motion to block the court-martial. |
Source and rest of article
I'm no attorney, don't even play one on TV, but since when do civilian federal judges intercede in Military Courts Martials?
Seems to me, if Watada and his federal judge gets away with this, Military Discipline will rapidly erode. _________________ Clark County Conservative |
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