1.
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT WON'T PURSUE WAR OBJECTOR CASE
By Gene Johnson
Associated Press
May 6, 2009
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gjsmj3UMnLWTsbnt3Th9Fs70UtDgD9811L401
SEATTLE -- The Justice Department is dropping its attempt to retry the first commissioned officer to be court-martialed for refusing to go to Iraq.
Army 1st Lt. Ehren Watada contended that the war is illegal and that he would be a party to war crimes if he served in Iraq. His first court-martial ended in a mistrial in February 2007.
A federal judge ruled last fall that the Army could not try him again on key charges, including missing troop movement, because it would violate his constitutional right to be free from double jeopardy.
The Justice Department initially appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but later asked the court to dismiss the matter. The court did so Wednesday.
Watada's attorney, James Lobsenz, said in a news release that his client anticipates he will soon be released from active duty and "plans to return to civilian life and to attend law school."
But Fort Lewis leadership is still mulling how to handle two remaining allegations of conduct unbecoming an officer against Watada that the federal judge had kicked back to the military trial court for further consideration.
Options include court-martial, nonjudicial punishment such as docking his pay or giving him extra work, or kicking him out of the Army with either an honorable or dishonorable discharge.
"What is most troubling to us here is that the most serious charge of missing movement will not be decided upon by a jury of the lieutenant's peers," said Army spokesman Joe Piek. "We're troubled by that on that on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who have deployed."
2.
NO COURT-MARTIAL FOR WATADA ON REFUSAL TO DEPLOY
By Vanessa Ho
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
May 6, 2009
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/405941_watada06.html?source=mypi
First Lt. Ehren Watada will not face a second court-martial for his decision to refuse deployment to Iraq, after a federal appeals court judge allowed the U.S. Army to drop its appeal in the case Wednesday.
"We are cautiously optimistic that perhaps we've had enough litigation," said Watada's attorney, James Lobsenz.
Watada was court-martialed in 2007 on five criminal counts after his high-profile refusal of deployment. The case ended in a mistrial, when the military judge declared that Watada did not fully understand a stipulation he had signed before the trial.
The case then went to the civilian U.S. District Court, where Judge Benjamin Settle ruled that a second court-martial on three of the five counts -- including refusal of deployment, the most serious charge -- would constitute double jeopardy.
Settle set aside two specifications of the same charge -- conduct unbecoming an officer -- which stemmed from public statements Watada made against the war and President Bush.
Settle left the door open for the United States to pursue those charges later. Fort Lewis spokesman Joseph Piek said he did not know if the Department of Justice intended to refile those charges. Lobsenz said no charges are currently pending.
Piek said the Army is now considering administrative forms of punishment for Watada, who is working a desk job at the base. He said the punishment options include extra duty, forfeiture of pay, or being discharged from the military.
"The one element that concerns us the most is that this case has always been and will forever be about a soldier -- in this case, a lieutenant, a commissioned officer -- who refused orders to deploy," Piek said.
"Because of a legal technicality, that charge is never going to see its day in court. For the hundreds of thousands of soldiers Army-wide, and for the many thousands of soldiers at Ft. Lewis, that is very disturbing."
Lobsenz said Watada -- who had become a hero among anti-war protesters -- is anticipating that he will be released soon from active duty. The case has extended his military service beyond what would have been his normal release date.
"He plans to return to civilian life and attend law school," Lobsenz said.
--Vanessa Ho can be reached at 206-448-8003 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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