Puckett & Faraj

Army 1LT Michael Brehenna was convicted by a court-martial in April 2009 of the unpremeditated murder of an Iraqi detainee in his custody.  He was sentenced to a dismissal from the Army (the office version of a military dishonorable discharge) and confinement for 25 years at Ft. Leavenworth’s Disciplinary Barracks.

Expert Witness Doesn’t Testify

His military defense attorney discovered very late in his military trial that a government blood spatter expert was prepared to testify that his conclusions tended to corroborate 1LT Brehenna’s version of how he came to kill the Iraqi detainee.  The discovery apparently came too late in the military trial for the expert to testify in front of the court-martial jury and possibly raise reasonable doubt that may have led to his acquittal on the theory that he acted in self-defense.

Military Defense Attorney Requests A New Trial

Immediately after the trial, the military defense lawyer requested a new trial that was denied by the military judge.  The military defense attorney argued that prosecutors violated a time honored legal mandate that evidence that may tend to exculpate the accused military service member be turned over to the military defense lawyers as soon as it is discovered.  Prosecutors were apparently well aware that their expert had reached conclusions that supported the military defense theory, since they did not call him as a witness in their case against LT Brehenna.

Prosecution vs Military Defense Lawyers

Did the military prosecutors violate the legal requirement to let the military defense attorneys know about the expert testimony that might buttress their case?  Did the military defense attorney interview the government expert in advance of the military trial to find out what he would say, despite the prosecution’s failure to inform him?  Would the evidence have raised reasonable doubt that may have caused the military jury to acquit the accused military service member?  Will this issue cause the Army Court of Criminal Appeals to reverse LT Brehenna’s conviction and permit him to have a new military trial?

Experienced Military Defense Attorneys

A superb military defense attorney addresses each of these types of questions during a military trial.   These are the details that make the difference between winning a losing a court-martial or a military appeal.  These are the details only an experienced and knowledgeable military criminal defense attorney can leverage to win your case.