No court-martial 4 Watada refusal 2 depl
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| Thu, 05-07-2009 - 12:41pm |
By VANESSA HO
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
First Lt. Ehren Watada will not face a second court-martial for his decision to refuse deployment to Iraq, after a federal appeals court judge allowed the U.S. Army to drop its appeal in the case Wednesday.
"We are cautiously optimistic that perhaps we've had enough litigation," said Watada's attorney, James Lobsenz.
Watada was court-martialed in 2007 on five criminal counts after his high-profile refusal of deployment. The case ended in a mistrial, when the military judge declared that Watada did not fully understand a stipulation he had signed before the trial.
The case then went to the civilian U.S. District Court, where Judge Benjamin Settle ruled that a second court-martial on three of the five counts -- including refusal of deployment, the most serious charge -- would constitute double jeopardy.
Settle set aside two specifications of the same charge -- conduct unbecoming an officer -- which stemmed from public statements Watada made against the war and President Bush.
Settle left the door open for the United States to pursue those charges later. Fort Lewis spokesman Joseph Piek said he did not know if the Department of Justice intended to refile those charges. Lobsenz said no charges are currently pending.
Remainder of article at: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/405941_watada06.html
| Thu, 05-07-2009 - 12:55pm |







