González & Waddington, Attorneys At Law

The prosecution will use every tactic they can to manipulate all aspects of a case and thwart the defendant’s ability to mount an adequate defense.

Prosecutors offer witnesses favors, plea deals, and immunity as long as they say what they’re asked to help win a case.

Even requests to use the same experts as used by the prosecution are often denied. It is critical to select an attorney with the experience and skill to win a case without defense experts, if needed. Our firm teaches other lawyers how to attack and discredit prosecution experts.

This tactic uses as many charges as possible to leave defendants little choice but to plead guilty. It is not uncommon to see court-martial charge sheets that are three pages long with the same charge repeated in different ways.

They are all working to find any and all information about you. Investigators often lose, overlook, or misplace evidence that helps the defense. Prosecutors and law enforcement will twist favorable facts and use them against you at trial.

They are trained in shady interrogation tactics, and they’re good at it. Investigators will try to get away with as many sneaky tactics as a defense lawyer allows. That’s why it’s important to hire a lawyer who knows the tricks of the trade and can use them to your advantage.

From the Judge to the jury, defendants are outranked. That includes the Chief of Military Justice (the Convening Authority that decides if a defendant will face a court-martial and picks the jury), the Staff Judge Advocate, preliminary hearings officers, and your assigned military lawyer. That’s why an aggressive military defense lawyer who’s not subject to rank is critical to a winning defense.

But to many SJAs, “justice” means getting a conviction, a discharge, and the toughest sentence possible. As the prosecutor’s boss, the SJA isn’t concerned about your freedom or your family’s welfare. They just want a conviction. They will bully prosecutors and your own defense attorneys alike to get it. Even when preliminary hearing officers find facts that don’t support bringing charges, some SJA offices still proceed to trial.

The prosecution is allowed to call any witnesses they desire without informing the defense of what those witnesses will say. But the defense must disclose exactly what its witnesses will say and what role their testimonies will play. Some judges require the defense to disclose even more details, revealing the entire defense strategy. In high profile cases, military defense lawyers face incredible pressure to plead guilty.