Government Drops Criminal Charges for Marine’s Caught with Spice
Jan 06, 2012
OUTCOME: Government Drops Criminal Charges for Marine’s Caught with Spice
Japanese Police near Gate 2 Street in Okinawa caught a Marine Corporal and his liberty buddy with Spice. The Marine was arrested and later turned over to the military police. Immediately after the arre...st, Mr. Bilecki, a worldwide military defense lawyer for UCMJ Article 112a drug offenses, was retained to represent the LCpl.
Our client was charged at a Special Court Martial, and Mr. Bilecki fought the case by demanding various expert witnesses for the defense as well as litigating the lawfulness of the General Order prohibiting Spice. After Mr. Bilecki’s full-court press and threat to take the case to trial, the government ended up dropping all criminal charges against our client.
Months later, the government took our client to an administrative separation board and tried to kick him out of the Marine Corps with an Other Than Honorable discharge. The government used the administrative separation board because they were so concerned that they could not get a conviction at an actual trial, where the burden of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt, and the rules of evidence apply.
We still fought for our client and traveled to Okinawa for the administrative separation board. At the board, the government tried to put on a “paper case” by not calling witnesses and only admitting the investigative reports. This was done so that the defense could not cross-examine their witnesses.
Even so, the government was not successful in getting their Other Than Honorable Discharge; instead, the board members gave our client a General, Under Honorable Conditions Discharge.
Criminal defense
Army Surgeon Investigated for Use of Drugs on Duty Gets No Criminal Charges
Nov 25, 2011
OUTCOME: Months after this subsequent investigation, the Article 15 and all criminal charges against our client were dropped.
Court martial lawyer Tim Bilecki was retained as an Article 112a UCMJ military drug defense attorney after our client, an Army surgeon, was investigated for using nitrous oxide and other general anesth...etics while on duty. The nature of this allegation was incredibly serious, as a charge for wrongful use of a controlled substance could have potentially cost this physician his medical license.
After conducting our own investigation, attorney Bilecki responded to the initial AR 15-6 investigation with a lengthy memorandum that exposed what we believed to be a culture of substance abuse among surgical residents at TAMC and explained our client’s position with regard to the alleged substance abuse.
The AR 15-6 Officer then drafted her findings, which essentially disregarded our initial memorandum. We then filed a rebuttal that encompassed nearly 150 pages of documents supporting our position and again exposing a culture of substance abuse at TAMC.
Based on our rebuttal and aggressive posture, our client was not charged at a court-martial but rather given a General Officer Article 15. Never relenting, we met with the Commanding General in person at the Article 15 and advocated for our client.
Thanks in part to our meeting with the Commanding General, the Article 15 was suspended, and an investigation was launched into other individuals at TAMC. Months after this subsequent investigation, the Article 15 and all criminal charges against our client were dropped. Our client was given a local letter of reprimand, and he is still practicing medicine.
Military law
Plea Agreement Gets Sailor 12 Months Sentence for Child Pornography
Nov 25, 2011
OUTCOME: Plea agreement for twelve months confinement
A Navy Petty Officer was charged with possession and distribution of large quantities of child pornography based on evidence found on his personal computer as well as a subsequent multi-hour recorded c...onfession to NCIS.
Mr. Bilecki was retained as an Article 134, UCMJ child pornography defense attorney in this matter to do damage control and obtain the best result possible for the Sailor. The government initially sought a plea agreement for 5 years confinement, which we did not agree to. We then secured the services of a digital forensic consultant to review the digital evidence against our client and based on that analysis, found extenuating and mitigating evidence which we used to negotiate a plea agreement with a lower sentence.
After several months of litigation, we were able to negotiate a plea agreement for our client which limited his sentence to 12 months confinement.
Military law
Airman Caught Downloading Child Pornography Sentenced to 6 Months
Nov 04, 2011
OUTCOME: Six months confinement.
An Airman stationed at Clovis, New Mexico was charged with possession of child pornography after being caught up in a federal and state child pornography Internet sting operation known as “Operation Ro...und-Up."
In this operation, federal and state law enforcement agencies monitored various peer-to-peer file-sharing sites, waiting for known videos and images of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to be accessed or downloaded. Once the target files were accessed or downloaded, the law enforcement agents then traced the IP address to determine the user's location.
In this case, the Airman was utilizing the Internet from his Air Force lodging room at Cannon AFB, New Mexico to download the alleged child pornography. Law enforcement then recorded all the various actions of our client while the alleged child pornography was being downloaded and obtained a search warrant to search his lodging room and computer. After the search warrant was executed, his computer was seized and sent to the USACIL forensic lab for review and analysis. The results of the search confirmed the initial observations of law enforcement that his personal computer was used to download images and videos of child pornography.
After UCMJ Article 134 child pornography defense attorney Tim Bilecki was retained on the case, we realized that the facts in this case were undoubtedly stacked against us, so we attacked the weakest link in the government's case — the initial search authorization.
Our claim was that law enforcement agents did not have the right to surreptitiously monitor the activities of our client and then use that monitoring to obtain search authorization for the computer. If we were able to get all of the evidence suppressed, the government's case would fall apart. We pressed this issue, as well as other potential defenses in this case, and tried to leverage a favorable pre-trial agreement with the government.
The prosecutors, however, would not agree to any plea deal for less than 5 years of confinement. The week before the trial, we changed our plea from Not Guilty to Guilty and put on an extensive case in extenuation and mitigation without a deal in place for the client in order to give him the absolute best possible outcome.
After a full day in court at the sentencing hearing, the military judge sentenced our client to 6 months of confinement and a Bad Conduct Discharge (BCD). Given the typical sentence for child pornography and the five-year plea deal that was offered by the government, this was a very favorable result for our client.
Criminal defense
Over 1,000 Pages of Evidence Cleared Marine Charged with Killing His Baby
Oct 21, 2011
OUTCOME: After nearly a year of waiting and thousands of pages of discovery, our client was found not guilty of all of the assault charges in less than an hour.
In one of our more complex cases, a Marine Corps Corporal was initially suspected of attempted murder of his 12-month-old baby and charged with multiple charges and specifications of assault on his chi...ld, inflicting serious bodily harm, child abuse, and child neglect. Based on the original charges, if convicted, the Marine Corporal would have likely spent most of his life in prison. In addition to those charges, and before we were retained on the case, the Marine escaped from pre-trial confinement.
The victim in this case suffered what our experts stated was the most severe non-accidental head trauma they had seen in their careers. The child’s skull was severally fractured, and one of the skull fractures had caused a tear into the brain as well as a subdural hematoma. Had the baby not been presented to the ER when she was, she would likely have died.
The government alleged that the night before the baby was taken to the hospital, while the Marine’s wife and mother of the child was out of the house, the Marine took the baby and slammed her head into a hard surface with extreme force, putting the baby into a coma. The next morning, when the mother woke up, she claimed she noticed the baby’s head was completely swollen and then took her to the ER, where she was intubated and placed in intensive care.
CPS and the Honolulu Police Department were immediately called out, and both parents were investigated. Our client made admissions to law enforcement that he had dropped the baby on numerous occasions, including the time of the alleged non-accidental skull fractures—this, in part, got him charged and placed in pre-trial confinement.
Upon being retained, we began assembling our team to take these charges head-on and get our client acquitted. This team was led by Mr. Tim Bilecki as civilian defense counsel. We immediately conducted our own investigation of the case and targeted the mother of the child as the individual who actually harmed the baby. Based on our theory, we dug into her life and learned that the baby had had numerous other “accidents” while in her care, that the baby took another serious “fall” with head trauma after our client was in pre-trial confinement, that the mother often had more liquor and cigarettes in the house than baby food, and that she had conducted numerous incriminating searches on her computer.
Mr. Bilecki then worked extensively with a pediatric radiologist to gain a full understanding of the complex and numerous CT scans, MRI images, and over 1000 pages of medical evidence in this case. Based on an intensive review of the medical records and the expert testimony of our radiologist, we were able to prove that the injuries must have occurred when the mother was with the baby and our client was on duty. We also showed that our client’s explanation in his purported “confession,” which we believed he made to take the blame off his wife, was medically impossible. Armed with this information, we took this case head-on at trial and went after the mother, who we believed caused the injuries.
In a week-long trial that took almost a year to get to court, Mr. Bilecki conducted a scathing cross-examination of our client’s wife, exposing her as a liar, a bad mother, and the likely perpetrator of the crime. We also called our computer forensic expert as a witness to show the inculpatory searches and Internet history of the mother, which validated our case theory.
The icing was put on the cake when our pediatric radiologist testified and placed the timeframe of the injuries when only the mother was with the child. After nearly a year of waiting and thousands of pages of discovery, our client was found not guilty of all of the assault charges in less than an hour. He was, however, convicted of the escape from prison, a charge we essentially conceded.
Military law
Sexual Assault, Fraud, Aggravated Assault, Tax Evasion Charges | Spain Case Results
Oct 21, 2011
OUTCOME: Thanks to his efforts, the client was ultimately found not guilty of all charges.
This case was tried by Mr. Waddington. Although the government offered numerous “deals” for our client, Mr. Waddington refused to accept any of them and instead opted to fight the charges.
Thanks to... his efforts, the client was ultimately found not guilty of all charges.
Criminal defense
Marine’s Apology Letter to Alleged Victim Used Against Him, Bilecki Intervenes
Oct 14, 2011
OUTCOME: Bilecki flew to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan to represent our client at the Summary Court Martial, where the Marine was found not guilty of all sexual assault charges.
A Marine Corps Corporal stationed at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan was charged with multiple specifications of sexual assault, communicating a threat, adultery, false official statements, and violation of a lawf...ul order for patronizing an off-limits establishment.
After the alleged sexual assault, NCIS agents tricked the Marine into drafting an “apology letter” to the alleged victim under the premise that an apology letter would keep him from getting charged. However, the letter was instead turned over to the prosecutors and used against him as an admission. Court-martial charges followed and the Marine retained sexual assault court martial defenseH lawyer Tim Bilecki as civilian defense counsel.
Once retained, we conducted our own investigation and learned that the alleged victim in this case was a liar and mentally unstable. We took an aggressive stance and fully litigated the Article 32 hearing, exposing her as a deceptive liar with a motive to fabricate the allegations. After the Article 32, the alleged victim backed down and no longer wanted to go forward with the case, and the charges were dropped to a Summary Court Martial.
Mr. Bilecki flew to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan to represent our client at the Summary Court Martial, where the Marine was found not guilty of all sexual assault charges. He was found guilty of adultery and violation of the lawful order but sentenced only to a reduction in rank.
Criminal defense
Prosecution Withdraws in Automotive Insurance Fraud Case Amid Vigorous Defense
Oct 07, 2011
OUTCOME: In lieu of a court martial, the command issued a letter of reprimand against our client, which was locally filed.
A case at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, involved an Army military police officer facing serious allegations of conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. The government accused the Sergeant First Class of col...luding with other Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) to intentionally damage a vehicle for insurance money. Despite the gravity of the allegations, proving the Sergeant’s misconduct posed a significant challenge for the prosecution.
During the AR 15-6 investigation, the officer sought the expertise of Tim Bilecki, a Hawaii court martial defense attorney. Bilecki adopted a bold and uncompromising stance in negotiations with the prosecution. He unequivocally communicated that any imposition of Article 15 would be rejected, and the case would be contested vigorously at trial. Furthermore, Bilecki made it clear that if charges were preferred, they were fully prepared to take the case to a verdict.
This assertive approach by the defense influenced the government’s decision-making process. Reluctant to engage in a potentially arduous and uncertain court battle, the government ultimately chose not to proceed with formal charges against the Sergeant First Class. In lieu of a court martial, the command issued a letter of reprimand against our client, which was locally filed.
Military law
Marine Charged with Attempt to Miss Deployment Avoids Court Martial
Sep 23, 2011
OUTCOME: NO FEDERAL CONVICTION
A Marine Corps Corporal client was charged with malingering in an attempt to miss a deployment. Tim Bilecki was retained as an Article 83 UCMJ military defense attorney, and we fought so that our clien...t would not end up with a federal conviction.
We were able to keep this case at a Summary Court Martial level and prevent a federal conviction.
Military law
Marines Caught with Knife and Bag of Spice Gets No Criminal Charges
Sep 09, 2011
OUTCOME: Marines Caught with Knife and Bag of Spice Gets No Criminal Charges
Facts:
A Marine Corps Private First Class at Camp Foster in Okinawa faced charges after an off-base incident where Japanese Police apprehended him with an illegal knife and a small bag of Spice. Fol...lowing his arrest, he was handed over to military authorities who then preferred charges for Spice possession. Okinawa Court Martial Lawyer Tim Bilecki was retained as civilian defense counsel.
Faced with the prospect of going to trial without substantial evidence, the government chose to withdraw and dismiss all charges and instead adjudicate the illegal knife violation administratively.
