Court-Martial Defense

Courts-martial are a unique court system, established to prosecute criminal cases involving service members. Many people are unaware of the drastic differences between civilian and military courts. Unless an attorney is familiar with the military court system, they may not be aware of all of these differences. Mr. Cassara has successfully defended accused service members in military courts of all services. He has represented service members across the country and in Europe, achieving favorable results in a number of complicated cases. Mr. Cassara spent five years in the United States Army as a prosecutor and defense counsel and, since 1993, has been in private practice representing service members in military courts.

The differences between the court-martial system and the civilian court systems are substantial. For example, in a court-martial, the “jurors” are other service members, who are specifically picked by the base commander to sit on courts-martial. In addition, the Article 32 (b) investigation, which occurs prior to a court-martial, has no real counterpart in the civilian world. Therefore, if you are pending court-martial it is important for you to have an attorney who is familiar with these differences.

Mr. Cassara has represented service members in a number of high profile and diverse cases. He has handled everything from special court-martials to murder cases at general court-martials. He has traveled from Fort Bragg, North Carolina to Camp Pendleton, California. Since his practice is limited to Military Law, Mr. Cassara keeps well informed of current trends and changes in military law.

Mr. Cassara’s practice is limited to military law, and he concentrates on courts-martials and related matters. In addition to having worked as a military prosecutor, and having defended numerous service members at court-martial, Mr. Cassara is an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina law school, where he teaches, among other courses, a course in Military Law. Mr. Cassara has also taught Military Law at the University of Baltimore Law School. He is also frequently asked to speak to junior military lawyers, and to provide instruction on the court-martial process.