William Cassara

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If a servicemember is found guilty at his court-martial during the findings phase of the trial, the court-martial will then have a sentencing phase.  This is the phase of the court-martial where the panel or military judge determines what sentence the servicemember will receive for the offenses for which he was found guilty.  If a … Read more

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The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) on 21 March 2017 in United States v. Sager determined that an alleged victim of sexual assault could indeed be “otherwise unaware” but both awake and conscious when the sexual act was occurring.  In this case, Navy Airman Sager was accused of sexually assaulting his roommate.  … Read more

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Mr. Cassara represented an Army Sergeant accused at a court-martial of conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, and numerous other charges arising out of a shooting in Germany. His co-accused went to trial before him and was convicted of several charges and sentenced to two years confinement and a bad-conduct discharge. One of the main … Read more

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I represented a former soldier who had severe PTSD from his time in Iraq and Afghanistan. When he got back from the war he had a complete mental breakdown and went AWOL, believing his wife (who had left him) and their son had been kidnapped. Instead of assisting him with his mental health issues, the … Read more

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Yes.  The Military Rules of Evidence (M.R.E.) state that a relevant out-of-court identification of any person is admissible in a court-martial, as long as it is in compliance with the M.R.E.   This includes identification lineups.  Lineups might be ordered by an investigative agency and can include live lineups of individuals, photographic lineups or even voice … Read more

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If you were investigated by military police, CID, NCIS or another like agency while serving, you might have adverse records in your file pertaining to this investigation.  You may be the “subject” of a “titling” or you may even have a “founded” or “substantiated” report of investigation in your military records.  This record may remain … Read more

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I recently represented an inmate at the USDB who was accused of misconduct. These boards are generally “kangaroo courts” and success is a rarity. But through hard work, including obtaining a video of the alleged incident, my client won the Board and they found no misconduct. He faced the loss of “good time” and spending … Read more

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I had one of my most satisfying victories in nearly 30 years of practicing law last week at Joint Base Lewis McChord. I previously represented Army Major Eric Smith in the appeal of his court-martial conviction. Dr. Smith was convicted of using cocaine based on a random urinalysis, and sentenced to a startling two years … Read more

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I am frequently asked whether a service member under investigation should retain an attorney prior to charges being officially preferred. Today I again learned why the answer is yes. I have been representing a soldier who was accused (not charged) of a violation of Article 120 (sexual assault.) Since no charges were formally brought, TDS … Read more

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We recently represented a Coast Guard Warrant Officer who was facing elimination after 19 years of service due to two alcohol related incidents. This would have lead to the loss of all of his retirement benefits. We petitioned the Coast Guard, and were able to show that, due to the length of time between the … Read more