Court Martial Lawyer | Military Attorney | Sex Assault Defense Army Air Force Navy Marine Corps Defense Lawyers — Gonzalez & Waddington, Attorneys at Law

1. Court Martial Defense Lawyers
Our hard hitting criminal defense lawyers have the experience and firepower
necessary to level the playing field.
Our team of civilian military defense lawyers aggressively defend Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps
servicemembers worldwide. Our military attorneys represent clients and fight court martial cases throughout
the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and the Pacific Rim (Korea, Hawaii, Japan).
We also represent military clients that are under investigation by CID, OSI, and NCIS with the objective of
avoiding criminal charges. Founded and led by Michael Waddington, our law firm is one of the most
experienced and successful team of military attorneys in the world.
READ ABOUT OUR ATTORNEYS
Sexual Assault in the Military
CLICK HERE IF YOU ARE ACCUSED OF SEXUAL ASSAULT
Currently, due to political pressure, many servicemembers are being persecuted by overzealous law
enforcement, JAGs, and politically correct commands. Many will do whatever it takes to convict you and send
you to jail. If you are accused of a sexual offense, then you must hire the best sex assault defense lawyer
possible to aggressively fight for your freedom and reputation. Your life depends on it. If you rely on a free
military lawyer to save your life, then you are rolling the dice. When you gamble, you usually lose. The house
wins. Here, the house is the military.
When it comes to military sexual assault and rape cases, our results and experience are unmatched. Contact
us to discuss your case!
Results
We invite you to compare our case results with ANY lawyers worldwide, civilian or military. We also provide
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2. references on request.
What are the Real Costs of a Court Martial Conviction? – Learn why a quick plea deal may not be in your
best interests.
High Profile Cases
Mr. Waddington has successfully defended numerous serious sexual assault cases and high profile court
martial cases arising from the War on Terror. He has been reported on and quoted by hundreds of major
media sources worldwide and provided consultation services to 60 Minutes, ABC Nightline, CNN, CBS, the
2010-2011 Golden Globe winning TV series The Good Wife” and other international media outlets.
Click here to read about our high profile cases.
In a Court Martial, What Am I Up Against?
In the military justice system, the Prosecution has numerous attorneys and paralegals working hard to put
you in prison for as long as possible. The accused is often scared, overwhelmed, and feels helpless, and they
should be. The deck is stacked against them. That is what the military wants. Defendants believe that they
have no choice but to quickly plead guilty.
PLEADING GUILTY SHOULD BE A LAST RESORT! YET, SOME MILITARY & CIVILIAN DEFENSE
LAWYERS PLEAD ALL OF THEIR CLIENTS GUILTY, EVEN WHEN THEY HAVE A FIGHTING CHANCE
OR THEY ARE INNOCENT.
ASK YOUR PROSPECTIVE CIVILIAN OR MILITARY LAWYER TO DESCRIBE THE DETAILS &
OUTCOMES OF THE LAST 12 CASES THEY DEFENDED. ASK HOW MANY OF THIER CLIENTS WERE
ACQUITTED, HOW MANY WERE NOT DISCHARGED FROM THE MILITARY, & HOW MANY CASES
THEY FOUGHT IN FRONT OF A JURY.Click here to see Mr. Waddington’s Recent Case Results
BEWARE – RED FLAG:
If your free military lawyer DOES NOT want you to hire an experienced civilian lawyer, be very cautious. Your
military lawyer should want as much legal firepower as possible on your team. Many military lawyers try to
persuade the accused to not hire a civilian because of ego or because they want to force you into a quick and
easy guilty plea.
The military has a conviction rate over 90% and almost all convicted defendants are discharged from the
military and sent to prison.
When you plead guilty, you have over a 95% chance of going to jail, getting a punitive discharge from the
military, losing your rank, & you are GUARANTEED to be a Federal convict for the rest of your life. If you want
to discuss fighting your case, call our military attorneys to discuss your options.
Take a look at what you are up against & why you need a hard hitting, fearless civilian defense
lawyer fighting for you (these observations are based on Mr. Waddington’s personal experience in
court martials worldwide):
Government prosecution team members usually outnumber your assigned military defense team 5
to 1. They will often manipulate every aspect of the case and fight hard to deprive you of your ability to
mount a legal defense. Some will use underhanded tactics to win. You must level the playing field with a
battle tested defense lawyer.
The accused is often denied requested delays and continuances so that they can prepare for
courts martial, Article 32′s, and boards.
Some prosecutors will acquire the testimony of witnesses by offering them immunity, plea deals,
and favors, so long as the witnesses help the prosecution win their case & say what they want them to
say. You need a lawyer that can destroy lying witnesses and uncover corrupt prosecutors and perjured
testimony.
Almost always, the accused is denied expert assistance, even when the prosecution has numerous
expert witnesses in the same area. Commonly, the prosecutor and SJA play a key role in ensuring that
the accused is denied expert assistance. The accused is usually forced to beg the judge for the same
experts that the Government has and that is often denied as well. The accused must have an attorney
with the experience and skill to win a case without defense experts, if necessary.
Military prosecutors often use the “shotgun approach” to charging. Their strategy is simple, charge a
military service member with as many charges as possible, and they will have no choice but to plead
guilty. It is not uncommon for a court martial charge sheet to be 3 pages long, usually with the same
conduct charged over and over again, in a variety of ways.
The Government has virtually unlimited financial resources and some prosecutors will try to win at all
costs.
CID, OSI, NCIS, & other military investigators are trained to use lies, trickery, & deceit, & they
are good at it. Their official training courses teach them to use “Liars, Trickery, & Deceit” to get the job
done. They will get away with as much lying as the defense lawyer will allow. You need a lawyer that
Our defense of court martial cases
has been covered by major media
outlets including:

3. can expose their lying, deceptive ways, & turn it to your advantage at trial. NEVER TRUST A CID, OSI,
or NCIS AGENT if you are a suspected of a crime or being “interviewed” by an investigator.
Don’t trust a military lawyer that claims to be “friends” with OSI, CID, or NCIS. You will live to regret it,
after you get out of military prison.
The Government has its own staff of criminal investigators (CID, NCIS, OSI, MPI, etc.) trying to dig up
dirt to use against you. They will almost always overlook, misplace, or hide evidence that helps
your case. At trial, they will take innocent facts and twist them to make you look guilty.
Rank often plays a role in the outcome of your case. Almost always, the Judge, the Chief of Military
Justice, the Staff Judge Advocate (SJA), most of the jury, the Convening Authority (the person that picks
the jury and decides whether or not you will be court martialed), the Article 32 officer, the chain of
command, and virtually every person that makes a decision in your case will outrank you and your
assigned Military Lawyer. An aggressive civilian defense lawyer is not subject to rank.
The Staff Judge Advocate (SJA) is the convening authority’s (CA) legal advisor. The SJA has a duty to be
fair, neutral, and impartial when giving advice. The SJA’s role is “justice.” The reality is, to many SJA’s,
“justice” means a conviction, hard jail time, and a discharge. The SJA is the boss, senior supervisor, and
rater of the prosecutor. They are not looking out for your freedom and your family’s welfare. They are not
neutral. Most SJA’s actively strategize with their prosecutors on how to convict the defendant and
maximize his jail time. Many SJAs admonish their prosecutors when they lose a case. Some SJAs will
put pressure on your military lawyer to get their way
In the Air Force, the “neutral” SJA will almost always refuse to allow Article 32 testimony to be recorded
and/or transcribed, unless it will help their case. They will often stop the Article 32 hearing if the defense
lawyers attempt to record the testimony at their own expense, even in cases where the accused faces
LIFE in prison. Refusing to record hearings in Felony cases is unheard of in civilian and other military
courts. In a recent rape Article 32 at Dover AFB, the defense was forbidden from using a tape recorder to
record the hearing and from transcribing the hearing at their own expense. The prosecutor, Captain
Andrew Cherkasky and the SJA, fought against the recording. The stated reason was that the defense
would use the transcript at trial to impeach the alleged “victim” if she changed her story. Does this sound
fair?
Some SJA offices will proceed to trial on baseless charges even when the Article 32 investigating
officer finds that the charges are not supported by the facts.
In a court martial, the prosecution can call any witnesses they want. They don’t have to tell the accused
what the witness will say. On the other hand, the defense, in order to have witnesses brought to court
martial, must disclose to the prosecution exactly what the witnesses will say (in writing) and what role
that testimony will have in the defense. Some judges require the defense to disclose even more details
to the prosecution. This often reveals the entire defense strategy. In the end, after the prosecution
learns the defense strategy, they can then pick and choose which defense witnesses will be brought to
the court martial.
In some cases (especially high profile court martial cases), extreme pressure will be put on the
military defense lawyer to “not rock the boat” or “burn bridges.”
Military defense lawyers are forbidden (by the military, not their State Legal Bar Associations) to speak
or deal with the media, even if they speak the truth and it will help their client get a fair trial. They
must get “permission” from their senior boss, an O-6 in Washington, DC, in order to be able to respond
to negative or false press. The prosecution often releases harmful and unfounded information to the
media when they file charges. In the Army, defense lawyers are even more restricted. During the high
profile Bagram Prison Abuse court martials of 2005-2006, Mr. Waddington (then an Army lawyer)
successfully fought false Government accusations in the media. It embarrassed the military, exposed a
bogus prosecution, and revealed that the Pentagon sanctioned detainee abuse and then court martialed
soldiers for carrying out their orders. In Dec 2005, in the middle of the Bagram trials, Army TDS
leadership rewrote their policy and made it nearly impossible for an Army TDS lawyer to defend against
negative press.
BOTTOM LINE: IF YOU WANT A FAIR SHAKE IN THE MILITARY JUSTICE SYSTEM, THEN YOU NEED
A FEARLESS LAWYER TO FIGHT FOR IT.
RECENT CASE RESULTS
THESE RECENT CASES SHOW THAT IN THE MILITARY, THE DEFENDANT IS
GUILTY UNLESS & UNTIL HE CAN PROVE HIS INNOCENCE, ESPECIALLY IN A
SEX ASSAULT CASE.
The accused needs the highest powered defense possible, even if he is innocent. Otherwise, his rights will be
trampled and he may end up in jail.
To the Government, innocence does not matter. It is not relevant. What matters is winning convictions and
statistics. The military must prove to Congress and lobbyists that they take sexual assault seriously. To prove
this, they need AS MANY MEN CONVICTED OF SEX CRIMES AS POSSIBLE. Congress and the Military
Member Of:

4. need sex crime convictions in order to justify the more than $100 million a year they now spend prosecuting
sex crimes in the military. DON’T BECOME A STATISTIC WITHOUT A FIGHT!
U.S. v. Army O-4 – Fort Carson, Colorado
Client was accused of mishandling SECRET documents in Iraq and allegedly trying to smuggle the
documents out of the FOB, back to the US. Mr. Waddington fought this case at a Show Cause Board
with attorney CPT Rheanna Felton.
Result: Retained on Active Duty
U.S. v. Army E-4 – Fort Carson, Colorado
Client was charged with raping a fellow soldier and committing an aggravated sexual assault (and
assault and battery) on another female soldier. He was also charged with violating a no contact order
imposed by his commander, to not contact one of the alleged victims.
Mr. Waddington along with CPT Jeremy Horn and CPT Melissa Desgupta-Smith fought the charges in
front of an officer and enlisted jury.
Result: NOT GUILTY OF ALL SEX CHARGES, Guilty of violating no contact order
Sentence: NO jail time, NO sex offender registration, NO discharge, 60 days restriction,
forfeiture of pay, reduction to E-1
Read the full story
U.S. v. Air Force E-3 – MacDill AFB, Tampa, FL
Client was accused of sexually assaulting the wife of a fellow Airman on two occasions. Mr. Waddington
was hired after the case was docketed for trial. We were able to negotiate a plea deal that saved client
from a Federal Conviction and Sex Offender registration.
Result: ALL SEX CHARGES dropped. Case was sent to a SCM so long as client admitted to
assault. A Summary Court does not give the client a criminal record.
Sentence: NO sex offender registration, NO Federal conviction, NO discharge, 30 days of
confinement, reduction to E-1
U.S. v. Marine O-3 – Marine Forces Reserve, New Orleans, LA
U.S. v. Marine O-3 – Marine Forces Reserve, Naval Support Activity, New Orleans, LA – A
married female Marine officer accused our client of rape. Our client took and passed two polygraphs. The
alleged “victim” did not take a polygraph.
(read more…)
Result: ALL SEX CHARGES dropped. Case was sent to a Special Court – Misdemeanor Level –
for Adultery and Conduct Unbecoming
Sentence: NO sex offender registration, NO felony conviction, NO jail time, Restriction for 60
days, Forfeitures
Read the full story
U.S. v. Air Force E-4 – Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, AZ
Client was accused of rape and aggravated sexual assault. The prosecution double charged him
although sex occurred once.
This allegation was made months after the sex, while the “victim” was facing discharge from the military.
(read more…)
RESULT: Mr. Waddington traveled to Tucson for the trial.
ALL CHARGES DISMISSED ON THE EVE OF TRIAL
Read the full story
U.S. v. Army O-3 – Fort Jackson, SC
Client was the Company Commander of a Basic Training Company. He was accused by three different
female trainees of sexual assault as well as charges of fraternization, violation of a regulation, conduct
unbecoming and officer, and sexual harassment. In addition to the alleged victims, a number of other
soldiers came forward to testify against our client. Our client also made a statement to CID that did not
help his case. (Because of the sensitivity of the case, we are not including details, but the facts were not
good for the defense). Our objective was to avoid a sex offender registration and jail time.
Mr. Waddington and CPT Jim Sleesman defended this challenging case in front of an officer jury. The
Commanding General stacked the jury with his most senior Combat Arms officers (mostly Infantry LTC
Battalion Commanders) and appointed his Chief of Staff to be the President of the jury. Waddington and
Sleesman confronted the three alleged victims one by one, disproving their stories. In the end, our client
was acquitted of all sex charges and 70% of the other allegations. He was convicted of violating a
regulation and one count of assault & battery.
Result: NOT GUILTY OF ALL SEX CHARGES, Convicted of other minor offenses Sentence:
Dismissal, NO jail time, NO sex offender registration
U.S. v. Army E-8 – SOUTHCOM, Miami, El Salvador, Fort Sam Houston, TX
Client was a Special Forces soldier accused of violently raping and sodomizing a Salvadoran
housekeeper. There was allegedly physical evidence, DNA evidence and numerous eyewitnesses that

5. supported the claim. The El Salvadoran Government wanted our client in jail. To appease the
Salvadorans, the American Government spared no expense to win this case. It became an international
incident between the US & Salvadorans and Not Guilty was not an option for the US Government.
(read more…)
Result: NOT GUILTY OF ALL CHARGES
Read the full story
U.S. v. Navy E-5 – Rota Navy Base, Spain – Client accused of sexually assaulting a female sailor, tax
evasion, fraud, aggravated assault on another female, indecent language, and other offenses. We plead
not guilty and fought the charges.
Result: NOT GUILTY OF ALL CHARGES
U.S. v. Air Force E-3 – McGuire AFB, New Jersey
Client was accused of two Sexual Assault – Article 120 offenses (aggravated sexual assault and
wrongful sexual contact). He was also charged with underage drinking. Our client faced over 31 years in
prison. He was accused of going into a bathroom where a female airman had been vomiting and was
supposedly unconscious and sexually assaulting her. Two Security Forces police officers claimed to
have witnessed the crime and intervened.
(read more…)
Result: NOT GUILTY OF ALL SEX CHARGES. Guilty of Underage drinking.
Sentence: NO JAIL TIME, NO DISCHARGE, NO LOSS OF RANK, Reprimand and forfeiture of
$200 x 4 months
Read the full story
U.S. v. Air Force E-4 – Minot AFB, North Dakota – Client was accused of breaking into the home of a
female that he had just met that day and raping her while she was unconscious. This was a tough case
because the alleged victim and her friends all claimed that she was very drunk, that she was vomiting,
that she could not walk, and that she was unconscious. They also claimed that the next day, our client
confessed to the crimes and apologized.
Mr. Waddington fought this case with ADC Capt Todd Tilford. We were also assisted by the renowned
forensic psychologist, Dr. Jeffrey Younggren.
When we started jury selection, we discovered that the jury was stacked with biased jurors. Several
jurors and/or their family members were sex assault victims, one juror was a sex assault victim advocate
and one was in law enforcement. We got down to 5 jurors and fought the charges in front of an enlisted
panel.
Result: NOT GUILTY OF ALL CHARGES AND SPECIFICATIONS
U.S. v. Air Force O-5 – McGuire AFB, New Jersey – Lt Col client was accused of 9 specifications
including adultery, indecent language towards female subordinates, unprofessional relationship with 3
subordinates, illegal use of a Government cell phone, and fraternizing with three lower enlisted
subordinates. Our goal was to save his retirement, avoid lengthy jail time and to get a Not Guilty on the
adultery. The client was married as was one subordinate. The evidence was overwhelming and included
text messages, numerous witnesses, Facebook messages, a hotel receipt and phone records.
Mr. Waddington and ADC Capt Miguel Acosta fought the allegations in front of an officer jury. In the end,
we were able to save his retirement and get a reasonable sentence (the prosecution asked for 6 months
and a dismissal). He was found not guilty of adultery and the defense team convinced the judge to
dismiss three additional charges. In sentencing, the Judge merged two of the other charges into one
charge.
Punishment: NO DISMISSAL, 60 days in jail, forfeitures, and a reprimand.
U.S. v. Air Force E-4 – Eglin AFB, Florida
Client accused of violently raping, choking and threatening an Air Force Security Forces/Policewoman.
After the alleged rape, he supposedly showed her a music video of a woman being raped, killed and
eaten and threatened her. This alleged “victim” was very persuasive and could cry on demand. The
problem was, she was lying. Our client maintained his innocence throughout the case.
(read more…)
ALL CHARGES WERE DISMISSED.
Read the full story
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6. Military Defense Lawyer – Sexual Assault Trial Lawyer
Michael Waddington is a criminal defense lawyer defending service members worldwide at court martial and
administrative separation boards. In the past year alone, he has successfully defended military personnel in
Europe, the Middle East (Iraq, Kuwait), Central Asia (Afghanistan), the Pacific (Yongsan Korea, Camp Casey
Korea, Okinawa Japan, Yokota Japan), and throughout the United States. Mr. Waddington has a reputation
for being a fearless and hard hitting trial lawyer. He has successfully fought cases with overwhelming odds
and drives a hard bargain when negotiating. Prosecutors don’t take a defense lawyer seriously unless they
know that the lawyer has a history of taking cases to trial and winning.
Mr. Waddington has been involved in some of the most high profile cases arising from the War on Terror. He
has extensive experience fighting against Military Prosecution “Teams” and winning. Mr. Waddington will
personally handle your case from start to finish. He keeps his case load small and generally only takes cases
were the client wants to fight the allegations.
Know Your Rights as a Suspect
Choosing a military defense attorney may be the most important decision that you will ever have to make. Do
not go into a court martial or administrative separation board without carefully selecting your lawyer.
Court Martial Lawyer
Our defense lawyers provide professional representation at General Court Martial (GCM), Special Court Martial
(BCD Special), or Summary Court Martial (SCM). Working with your assigned counsel, we take the lead and
develop the best strategy to protect your life, liberty and property.
Administrative Separation & Show Cause Boards
Our attorneys can help defend your rights at separation boards & show cause boards. Mr. Waddington has
successfully represented hundreds of service members facing administrative separation.
Military Discharge Upgrades – Discharge Upgrade Attorney
Click here for a guide to Army Discharge Upgrades, written by Michael Waddington. Our lawyers can help
you with your military discharge upgrade and we can represent you in front of a discharge review board or in
the preparation of your military discharge upgrade packet.
Visit us on YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/user/courtmartiallawyers
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Court Martials
Military Court Martial Appeals
Administrative Separation Boards
Show Cause Boards
Article 32 Investigations
Military Bases
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establish an attorney-client relationship.
The firm will only accept representation
upon the signing of an appropriately drafted
Contractual Agreement signed by an attorney
from Gonzalez & Waddington and the Client.
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