Gonzalez & Waddington is a civilian military defense firm, founded by Michael Waddington and Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington, that has defended service members at courts-martial and in UCMJ matters worldwide for more than two decades.
Say nothing about the allegation to anyone but a lawyer, have no contact with the accuser for any reason, and get counsel now — an Article 120 case runs on two tracks at once, criminal and administrative, and the decisions of the first two weeks — statements, contact, evidence preservation — do more to determine the outcome than anything that happens in a courtroom a year later. When you choose an Article 120 lawyer, look for one who has personally tried contested sexual assault cases in front of members, knows how the Office of Special Trial Counsel decides cases, and will handle your case personally rather than handing it off.
| The offense | Article 120, UCMJ (10 U.S.C. § 920) covers rape, sexual assault, and related contact offenses; conviction of qualifying offenses carries sex offender registration on top of confinement and a punitive discharge. |
|---|---|
| Who decides on charges | Since December 2023, the independent Office of Special Trial Counsel — career military prosecutors outside your chain of command — makes prosecution decisions for these covered offenses, not your commander. |
| The two tracks | A criminal track (beyond a reasonable doubt) and an administrative track (preponderance of the evidence) run simultaneously; a declination on the first does not stop the second. |
| Your rights | Article 31(b) rights warnings before questioning; the right to decline any interview; Article 38’s right to retain civilian counsel at any stage without losing detailed military counsel. |
| The clock | Investigations commonly run six months to a year; favorable digital evidence and witness memory degrade fastest in the first weeks. |
I was accused of sexual assault in the military. What should I do right now?
The first days decide more than the trial. Five rules, in order of how fast people break them:
- No contact with the accuser. None. Not an apology, not an explanation, not a mutual friend carrying a message. Contact is how a defensible case acquires an obstruction or violation-of-order charge, and a military protective order may already make any contact a separate offense.
- No statements to investigators without counsel. CID, NCIS, OSI, or CGIS will invite you to give “your side.” Article 31(b) lets you decline, and declining cannot be used against you at trial. There is no version of the unprepared interview that helps you.
- No talking it through with friends, roommates, or your chain of command. Every person you confide in becomes a potential government witness who can be ordered to testify about what you said.
- Preserve everything. Texts, DMs, photos, location history, dating-app threads, receipts — the digital record around the encounter is frequently the case, and the exculpatory half of it is the half nobody in the government is preserving for you. Do not delete anything; deletion reads as consciousness of guilt and can be an offense itself.
- Get counsel now, not when charges arrive. The defense investigation — witnesses, devices, experts — takes months, and it works best on fresh evidence.
How an Article 120 case actually proceeds
The investigation
The allegation triggers a felony-level investigation by your service’s investigative agency, and usually a military protective order and a flag at the same time. Agents interview the accuser and witnesses, image phones, and collect forensic evidence before they ever approach you — the subject interview typically comes late, when the file is nearly complete.
The charging decision
When the investigation closes, the prosecution decision belongs to the Office of Special Trial Counsel, the independent prosecution authority created for covered offenses in December 2023. OSTC can prefer charges and send the case toward an Article 32 preliminary hearing and a general court-martial, or decline.
The administrative track that keeps going either way
A declination is not an exoneration in the command’s eyes: administrative separation on the same allegation, under the far lower preponderance standard, is common, and for many accused it is the fight that actually determines the career, the characterization, and the benefits. Understanding both tracks from the start is not optional strategy; it is the strategy — a defense built only for the courtroom can win there and still lose the career.
What a real Article 120 defense looks like
These cases are defended with investigation, not with cross-examination alone. The work: independent interviews of the witnesses the government talked to and the ones it did not; forensic examination of devices and message threads in context rather than in the government’s excerpts; timeline reconstruction against location data and receipts; and expert consultation where the science matters — toxicology where alcohol is involved, digital forensics, and where appropriate, experts on memory and suggestibility.
It is resource-intensive and time-sensitive, which is precisely why the early retention matters: the defense that begins at preferral inherits a picked-over record; the defense that begins at the allegation builds its own.
How to choose a civilian military lawyer for an Article 120 case
Not every court-martial lawyer is an Article 120 lawyer. The questions that separate them, asked directly in the consultation:
- How many contested Article 120 courts-martial have you tried to verdict — not handled, tried? Who sat first chair?
- Who will actually work my case day to day, and how many open cases do they carry?
- What defense investigation would you run here, and with what resources — investigators, digital forensics, toxicology?
- How do you defend the administrative track if OSTC declines? What happens at a separation board on these facts?
- What is the written scope of the fee — investigation, Article 32, trial, board — and what changes it?
And the red flags: a guaranteed outcome (no honest lawyer offers one), pressure to sign today, vagueness about who tries the case, and any suggestion that you talk to investigators first “to look cooperative.” A lawyer who promises less and explains more is usually the one telling the truth.
Remember also what hiring civilian counsel does not cost you: under Article 38 you keep your detailed military defense counsel, and the two work the case as a team.
What is actually at stake
Conviction of a qualifying Article 120 offense can mean confinement, a dishonorable or bad-conduct discharge, total forfeitures, a federal conviction, and sex offender registration that outlasts the sentence by decades. The administrative track threatens the career, the characterization of service, VA benefits, and the GI Bill even where the criminal case never happens.
Those stakes are the honest argument for treating the first weeks with the seriousness of a trial — because in evidentiary terms, they are the trial.
Talking to Gonzalez & Waddington
Gonzalez & Waddington is a civilian military defense firm representing service members in courts-martial, administrative separation boards, and military investigations.
If you have been accused, or investigators have reached out, the record is being written now, mostly without you. Call 1-800-921-8607, text 954-799-4019, or use the contact form on this site for a confidential consultation: where the investigation appears to stand, what decisions are in front of you, what representation at this stage would look like — and, candidly, whether you need it yet.
Video transcript
Transcript of the video “Falsely Accused of Military Sexual Assault? Article 120 Defense,” with Michael Waddington of Gonzalez & Waddington.
Read the full transcript of this video
My name is michael waddington and i’m a criminal defense attorney in this video i want to talk about when you should get a lawyer involved in your case if you are accused of a crime the answer is immediately if you’re suspected accused or even think you may be suspected of a crime you need to at a minimum consult with a lawyer now if you are actually under investigation you need to get a lawyer involved why you may be saying well you’re just saying that because you’re
A lawyer and you want people to spend their money on lawyers i mean you can do what you want but it’s one of those things that your first decisions if you’re under investigation can affect the outcome of your entire case one false move from you maybe even just telling a friend what happened or denying that something happened or the leading message messages or handing your phone over to someone or contacting the alleged victim and apologizing you name it there are so many blunders and pitfalls that
People accused of crimes even falsely accused of crimes fall into a lawyer would advise you and steer you a good one advise you and steer you away from making those blunders like for example i’ve been doing this for over 20 years i’m going on 21 years of criminal defense work as an attorney i’ve seen pretty much everything that’s out there so i can guide my clients through that because that’s really what you’re paying for when you retain an attorney is their advice and their availability to
Help you guide you and give you hope and to get kind of steer you in the right direction waiting until the end to see if you get charged may be a cheaper option short term but long term if you get charged and you get convicted your life is pretty much forever altered you.
Frequently asked questions
I was accused of sexual assault in the military. What should I do first?
No contact with the accuser for any reason; no statements to anyone but a lawyer; preserve every message and record without deleting anything; and retain counsel now. The first two weeks of an Article 120 case shape everything that follows.
Accused of military sexual assault — who should I hire?
A lawyer who has actually tried contested Article 120 courts-martial to verdict, who can name the defense investigation they would run and the experts they would use, who will defend the administrative track as well as the criminal one, and who puts the fee scope in writing. Ask those questions directly in the consultation.
Will my commander decide whether I’m prosecuted?
No. Since December 2023 the independent Office of Special Trial Counsel makes prosecution decisions for sexual assault and other covered offenses. Your command still controls the administrative track — flags, protective orders, and separation processing.
Can I be kicked out even if I’m never charged?
Yes. Administrative separation runs on a preponderance-of-the-evidence standard and frequently follows a criminal declination on the same allegation. Defending that board is part of an Article 120 defense, not an afterthought.
Should I talk to CID, NCIS, or OSI to clear my name?
Not without counsel. The subject interview exists to complete the government’s file, declining it is a protected Article 31(b) choice that cannot be used against you at trial, and unprepared statements are how defensible cases are lost.
Do I lose my free military lawyer if I hire a civilian one?
No. Article 38 guarantees your right to retain civilian counsel at your own expense while keeping detailed military defense counsel. They work as a team.
Sources and authorities
- Article 120, UCMJ (10 U.S.C. § 920) — rape and sexual assault generally
- Article 31, UCMJ (10 U.S.C. § 831) — rights warnings; compulsory self-incrimination prohibited
- Article 38, UCMJ (10 U.S.C. § 838) — the right to civilian defense counsel at the accused’s own expense
- Article 107, UCMJ (10 U.S.C. § 907) — false official statements
- Manual for Courts-Martial and Rules for Courts-Martial — Joint Service Committee on Military Justice
- DoD Instruction 5505.7, Titling and Indexing in Criminal Investigations — DoD Issuances
- Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. ch. 47
Related
- Should I Hire a Lawyer Before Charges Are Preferred?
- How to Choose a Civilian Court-Martial Lawyer
- NCIS Investigations
- CID Investigations
- OSI Investigations
- How Can Text Messages Win a Military Sexual Assault Case?
- What Is the Mistake of Fact Defense Under Article 120?
- Article 120c UCMJ: Indecent Exposure and Viewing Explained
- Expedited Transfer: What Happens to the Accused When the Accuser Moves?
Accused of sexual assault in the military lawyers at Gonzalez & Waddington
- Michael Waddington — Civilian Military Defense Lawyer, Gonzalez & Waddington. Attorney at Law
- Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington — Civilian Military Defense Lawyer, Gonzalez & Waddington. Attorney at Law