Military Law

Defending those who serve

Joining the military is not only patriotic and commendable, but it is a lifestyle change. Servicemembers and their families are exposed to a daunting bureaucracy to go along with a whole separate legal system called the Uniformed Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). For example, servicemembers continue to face punishment for blogging and making political or personal comments of which some commanders take issue. Others are accused of missing movement, committing crimes, violating rules and regulations, or simply going AWOL. These potential punishments involve courts-martial, Article 15/non-judicial punishment, reduction hearings and separation proceedings. Moreover, National Guard and Reserve component personnel are increasingly confronted with issues relating to the UCMJ or comparable state rules. UCMJ rules also have been applied to members of the IRR as well as retired servicemembers.

Many times, servicemembers facing adverse action do not want to rely on an appointed JAG officer and opt to excercise their rights for civilian representation. Attorneys at Greenberg & Lieberman have experience in the following Military Law areas:

• Courts-martial defense
• Administrative separation defense
• Servicemember work product -- ie deployed soldier who wants to protect intellectual property rights relating to invention or tool he or she developed while in uniform.
• Military expression -- blogging, file sharing, free-speech issues
• AWOL -- negotiated surrender
• AWOL -- post-apprehension/surrender proceedings
• Whistleblower