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Judge halts Iraq war
TACOMA, Wash. - A federal court judge has temporarily blocked a court-martial scheduled to start Tuesday for an Iraq war objector based at Fort Lewis.First Lt. Ehren Watada is charged with refusing to deploy to Iraq. His lawyers argue the Army is violating his constitutional rights by trying him twice for the same crime. U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle A Bush appointee (June 07) ruled he has jurisdiction to issue the stay and that Watada's double-jeopardy claim is not frivolous. This is a remarkably clear case of an egregious violation of the double-jeopardy clause, Watadas lawyers, James Lobsenz and Kenneth Kagan, wrote in an emergency motion to block the court-martial. Watada has said the war is illegal and that he would be party to war crimes if he served in Iraq. Don't forget that he enlisted after the war started. He knew what he was getting into. The Army, which refused his request to be posted in Afghanistan or elsewhere, declared his first court-martial a mistrial in February, over the lieutenants objections. The Army Court of Criminal Appeals has ruled that Watada can be court-martialed again, but Watada appealed that decision to the U.S. Circuit Court for the Armed Forces, which has not ruled, his attorneys wrote. And then he, at the same time, appealed to this Federal judge? Watadas attorneys also asked that he be allowed to leave the Army. Watadas term of service ended in December, but the pending legal proceedings have prevented his discharge. He lives in Olympia and continues to perform administrative duties at Fort Lewis, south of Seattle. Hopefully just shuffling papers of a non-important matter. I wouldn't trust him to handle my toilet paper. The only reason hes still in the Army is that the Army will not let him leave while theres discipline pending, Kagan said. Wouldn't the military lose jurisdiction if they cut him loose? The government has followed the law and rules throughout the process of bringing this case to trial, the Army said in a statement released by Fort Lewis spokesman Joe Piek. The U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals in Ballston, Va., determined that this case was not prohibited by double jeopardy and may properly proceed to trial. The Court issued its ruling after considering comprehensive briefs and arguments from the parties. Posted by: CrazyFool 2007-10-07 |
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