On June 24, 2013 the Army Court of Criminal Appeals in U.S. v. St. John determined that a servicemember’s plea in a court-martial to both indecent liberties with a child and indecent exposure for the same incident was duplicative. It is often difficult to understand Congress’ full intent with regards to Article 120 of the UCMJ. However, this case shows us that the appellate courts are willing to determine that when dealing with a single incident, they may find that only one court-martial conviction for that incident should stand. At a court-martial, it is very common for the government to “stack the charge sheet” and charge a servicemember for several crimes when only one criminal incident occurred. In some cases, these are valid charges. In other cases, as seen in U.S. v. St. John, the court-martial charges are duplicative. I have the experience to advise you on whether or not you have been convicted of or charged with duplicative crimes at your court-martial. Let me help you. To speak to an experienced court-martial and military defense attorney, call Bill Cassara at 706-860-5769 for a free consultation.
