Court bars second court-martial for Watada

The Seattle Times ^ | Thursday, November 8, 2007 | Hal Bernton

[RainMan]

A U.S. District Court judge today granted a preliminary injunction that bars the Army from proceeding with a second court-martial trial of 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, the first Army officer to face prison for refusing to deploy to Iraq.

Watada's court-martial in February ended in a mistrial, and his attorneys have claimed that Fifth Amendment constitutional protections prevent Watada from being tried twice for the same crime.

[Crim]

WHA?

Since when?

So a mistrial is now a not guilty verdict?

[RainMan]

Washington State Ping

[usmcobra]

Great! Order him to Iraq again, and let him screw himself for a second time.

[goldstategop]

Its unconstitutional. A civilian federal judge has NO business interfering with the administration of military justice. Watada's case should be decided by the court martial under the Uniform Code Of Military Justice. Desertion and treason are NOT constitutional rights.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[RDTF]

huh? Are they letting him walk?

[Ramius]

What?

A mistrial is not and has never been grounds for double jeopardy. This judge must have an agenda.

[Ramius]

There’s a thought.

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

In his written decision, Judge Benjamin Settle of Tacoma found that Watada's case was likely to succeed on its merits,...

If the courts are are too incompetent to carry out trials, then why have courts? Somehow the illiberal mind does not see the sowing of the seeds of its own destruction.

[goldstategop]

That federal judge should be impeached and removed from office for interfering with and subverting the administration of justice. That would happen in country that revered the Constitution and the rule of law.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[Ramius]

Except... on thinking about it...

He might take the mission this time, and no American soldier should be put at risk by having this treasonous coward in their company. He’d get good men killed. Better men than him.

[goldstategop]

Benjamin Settle is also an idiot as well as a traitor. A mistrial is NOT an acquittal.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[Eagles6]

Let's see now...they refuse to punish military members who do commit crimes, as in here, and they persecute military members who don't commit crimes (haditha and hamandia).

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

[tarheelswamprat]

This judge must have an agenda.

Obviously so. The real question is, under what possible legal reasoning does this judge even have jurisdiction? What are civilian judges doing being involved in UCMJ proceedings?

[NormsRevenge]

OOPs.

http://www.fjc.gov/history/home.nsf/judges_frm

Settle, Benjamin Hale
Born 1947 in Olympia, WA

Federal Judicial Service:
Judge, U. S. District Court, Western District of Washington
Nominated by George W. Bush on January 9, 2007, to a seat vacated by Franklin D. Burgess; Confirmed by the Senate on June 28, 2007, and received commission on July 2, 2007.

Education:
Claremont McKenna College, B.A., 1969

Willamette University College of Law, J.D., 1972

Professional Career:
Private practice, Washington, 1972, 1976-2007
Judge Advocate General’s Corps, U.S. Army, 1973-1976

Race or Ethnicity: White

Gender: Male

[NormsRevenge]

a noob,, to boot.

[Candor7]

He might take the mission this time, and no American soldier should be put at risk by having this treasonous coward in their company. He’d get good men killed. Better men than him.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The military can order him to duty anywhere, and if he refuses, then he will be court marshalled again.

If he takes an Iraq or Afghanistan duty assignment, I want to buy a life insurance policy on him.

A mistrial can constitute a trial if evidence was lead to convict him. We have a double jeopardy rule, and if it is pleaded on a second identical charge, with identical evidence, then it is successful. They should have changed the offences he had been charged with, or found "new" evidence.Then Watada would not have been able to plead double jeopardy as a defence to the second trial.

A man can only be tried once for any given offence under federal law. State law is different in many jurisdictions where the double jeopardy rule is very narrowly interpreted.

Generally once a person is placed in jeopardy by evidence led against him that would lead to concviction, that evidence cannot be used for a trial in a second identical offence trial. Some staes allow a second trial with very small changes to the indictment or to the offence with which the accused is charged. In this case , the feds decided the charges and evidence were identical to the first trial, so the double jeopardy defence was successful.

Sounds like a Dem prosecutor in front of a Dem judge. No wonder Gonzales wanted to clean house.

[jess35]

Apparently, the Judge decided he had jurisdiction over a military court. That’s pure moonbatism.

[PAR35]

A mistrial is not and has never been grounds for double jeopardy.

It can be, in certain limited cases of prosecutorial misconduct at trial.

[Ramius]

But a mistrial is not a trial. There is no finding of guilty or not guilty. It provides no jeopardy.

Double jeopardy only comes into play if there was a verdict, say, of not guilty and then there was another trial on the same charge and evidence.

There was no trial here.