United for Peace of Pierce County, WA - We nonviolently oppose the reliance on unilateral military actions rather than cooperative diplomacy.

On Thursday afternoon U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle issued a preliminary injunction in favor of Lt. Ehren Watada, throwing what in all likelihood appears destined to turn into a definitive monkey wrench into Army plans to stage a second court-martial of the Iraq war resister. -- Watada attorney Ken Kagan called the ruling "an enormous victory."[1] -- Judge Settle's 33-page ruling inquired closely into the conduct of the military judge who declared a mistrial on Feb. 7, 2007, and found that "it is likely the military judge abused his discretion in rejecting the stipulation midway through the trial on the same information upon which he accepted it, that there was no manifest necessity for calling a mistrial, and that the record does not reflect that reasonable alternatives to calling a mistrial were explored or entertained" (p. 22). -- This vindicates the judgment expressed on the day the mistrial was declared by Watada attorney Eric Seitz. -- On Thursday, Kagan remarked: "The judge's order did not indicate what the next steps are, and did not give the parties a briefing schedule. He did indicate, though, that no trial proceedings could occur until his further order, or until this injunction is modified or dissolved (either by him or by a higher court). -- It is reasonable to infer that the burden is now on the government to come forward and ask him to modify or dissolve the injunction." -- The Seattle Times reported that "The Army Office of the Staff Judge Advocate — in a statement released late today — said it plans to file additional briefs on the double jeopardy issues."[2] -- However, reported Hal Bernton, "'The same Fifth Amendment protections are in place for military service members as are afforded to civilians. There is a strong public interest in maintaining these rights inviolate,' Settle wrote. '. . . To hold otherwise would ignore the many sacrifices that American soldiers have made throughout history to protect these sacred rights.'" -- KGMB-9 in Hawaii called the ruling "a big development." ...

Subject: Watada Preliminary Injunction
Date: Thu, 8 Nov 2007 17:20:35 -0800
From: [Kenneth Kagan]
To: --

At approximately 3:39 p.m. today, Judge Benjamin H. Settle of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington (sitting in Tacoma, WA) issued the attached ruling, which is a grant of a Preliminary Injunction in favor of 1Lt Ehren Watada.

1. The remedy sought by Lt Watada (i.e., a writ of habeas corpus in a pretrial setting), while rare, is appropriate;

5. Even if Judge Head did not abuse his discretion in rejecting the Stipulation of Fact, there was still a lack of "manifest necessity";

This is an enormous victory, but it is not yet over. This has not yet ripened into a permanent injunction, though the judge did indicate that we have demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits.

The judge's order did not indicate what the next steps are, and did not give the parties a briefing schedule. He did indicate, though, that no trial proceedings could occur until his further order, or until this injunction is modified or dissolved (either by him or by a higher court).

It is reasonable to infer that the burden is now on the government to come forward and ask him to modify or dissolve the injunction. Beyond that, it is impossible to speculate on what will occur next.

My partner, Jim Lobsenz, and I are enormously gratified at the care with which Judge Settle approached this matter. While it is not yet over, we've come a long way toward achieving our goals for Lt. Watada in this litigation.

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. At issue is whether this protection, known as double jeopardy, applies when a trial is under way, and then is halted by a judge over the objections of a defendant. Watada had asked to complete his first court-martial trial.

In his written decision, Judge Benjamin Settle of Tacoma found that the Army judge "likely abused his discretion" in the court-martial, and that Watada's District Court case about violations of Fifth Amendment protections was likely to succeed on merit. He ordered the U.S. Army not to proceed with a Fort Lewis court-martial that could result in up to six years in prison for failing to deploy and conduct unbecoming an officer.

"The same Fifth Amendment protections are in place for military service members as are afforded to civilians. There is a strong public interest in maintaining these rights inviolate," Settle wrote. ". . . To hold otherwise would ignore the many sacrifices that American soldiers have made throughout history to protect these sacred rights."

Watada last year publicly denounced the Bush Administration for waging an illegal war in violation of both U.S. and international law. And, in June of 2006, he refused to join the 3rd (Stryker) Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division out of Fort Lewis as the soldiers deployed to Iraq. Watada still serves at Fort Lewis.

The Army Office of the Staff Judge Advocate -- in a statement released late today -- said it plans to file additional briefs on the double jeopardy issues.

"We look forward to the opportunity {$326} to further explain to the District Court judge the full extent of the protections and safeguards that are afforded to a military accused," the statement said. "We believe that this additional information will be helpful as the judge prepares to issues his final ruling in the case.

Watada's attorneys hope that Settle eventually will opt to issue a permanent injunction, which would prevent any retrial of Watada unless the Army was able to overturn the decision on appeal.

"This is an enormous victory, but it is not yet over," said Kenneth Kagan, a counsel for Watada.