Criminal Charges

COURTS-MARTIAL - ABSENCE WITHOUT LEAVE/DESERTION ADMINISTRATIVE SEPARATION BOARDS - APPEAL OF COURTS MARTIAL CONVICTIONS - RAPE - SEXUAL ASSAULT CASES - POSITIVE URINALYSIS CASES

If you are the subject of an investigation by military authorities, or if you are faced with adverse action being taken against you by the military, you need to have competent legal representation by an experienced trial attorney who will provide you with sound legal advice and aggressively defend your rights. Attorney Greg D. McCormack will provide you with the experienced legal representation you need, at any U.S. military facility in the world.

Your best line of defense of a Courts-Martial, Board of Inquiry or an Administrative Separation Action is your lawyer. You need a well-seasoned attorney who is not afraid to stand up to the senior officers or the judge and jury to fight for you. Let there be no mistake, your future depends in many respects upon the ability and aggressiveness of your lawyer. The military’s criminal litigation process is very difficult to understand and your lawyer needs to know the system to be able to provide the best legal advice to you. Attorneys Greg McCormack and Patrick Flynn will give you an honest appraisal of your situation and if retained, we will strive to secure the best possible resolution of your case.

Greg McCormack’s initial experience as a prosecutor and defense attorney with the Army JAG Corps from 1979-1982 serves as the foundation upon which his reputation is now based. Since leaving active duty in 1982, he has represented countless military clients around the world and has established a firm reputation as an extremely aggressive attorney who will not hesitate to do what is necessary within the boundaries of the law to secure an acquittal or the best result for his clients.  With his vast level of courts-martial and administrative law experience, he knows how to effectively deal with the military. Patrick Flynn’s prior service as a Lieutenant with the Police Department for the City of New York, as well as his extensive litigation and appellate experience with the Coast Guard, enables him to be able to effectively evaluate the prosecutions case and to generate the best defense and outstanding results for our clients.  Take a few moments to review some of the representative cases in this Web site to get a feel for the kind of cases our firm has successfully handled over the years.

COURTS-MARTIAL
If you are facing a Courts-Martial, or an Administrative Separation action, you need a well seasoned lawyer who is not afraid to stand up to the senior officers, the judge and the jury to fight for you. Your future depends upon the aggressiveness, and abilities of your lawyer. Understand that in many cases, actual innocence or guilt is NOT controlling – innocent people do get convicted and just because you may have actually committed the crime does NOT mean you need to be convicted. Greg McCormack’s initial experience with military criminal law was as a prosecutor with the Army from 1979-1981, and then as a military defense attorney until he left active duty in 1982. Since that time, he has represented countless military clients around the world and has established a firm reputation as an extremely aggressive attorney who will not hesitate to do what is necessary within the boundaries of the law to secure an acquittal or favorable result for his clients.   Patrick Flynn’s vast criminal law background is an invaluable asset in the formulation of the best defense for our clients.

DEFENSE OF RAPE, SODOMY AND SEXUAL ASSAULT CHARGES
Since leaving active duty in 1982, Greg McCormack has successfully represented numerous service members in defense of charges of rape, sodomy and sexual assault.  A conviction for rape, sodomy and sexual assault charges can be devastating in all respects – not only will a conviction likely result in a punitive discharge and lengthy period of confinement, the life long implications of having to register as a sex offender will undoubtedly change a person’s life in ways that are literally unimaginable.  Over the years, the law has become very protective of the rights of the rape "victim," which significantly creates additional evidentiary hurdles for the defense lawyer in a rape or sexual assault trial.

Mr. McCormack's experience in defending rape, sodomy and sexual assault cases is such that he has the ability to recognize evidentiary issues that may lie ahead and develop a trial strategy that is best suited to overcome those obstacles to the extent possible under the law. His cross-examination skills have been honed over time to the point where he knows when to aggressively confront the "victim" with vigorous cross-examination, or instead, to conduct methodical, but low key cross-examination in a method that reduces the risk of sympathy flowing to the "victim," yet effectively drawing out information which is designed to lead to the acquittal of his client.

INTERNET CRIMES
Although the internet has made remarkable changes in our daily lives, it has also brought into play a new area of criminal offenses that did not exist several years ago - internet crimes. Many people seem to believe that what they do on the internet, in the privacy of their homes, is no one else's business; regrettably, that is not the case. Law enforcement agencies are expending a tremendous amount of time investigating the use of the internet for offenses related to children. We are seeing more and more cases coming to us in which our clients have been apprehended after viewing and/or distributing child pornography in the secrecy of their homes. The most recent trend that is catching a lot of attention is the on-line solicitation of children for sexual activity. We are also seeing many cases related to the use of government computers for pornography - both child and adult.

Our office has handled numerous offenses related to the internet. A conviction for these offenses can not only lead to the loss of a military career and significant confinement, but also require the person to be registered as a sex offender under federal and state sex offender registration laws. We are well prepared to provide an aggressive defense to criminal charges related to the internet.

AWOL CASES - DESERTERS
If you are absent without authority, or in a deserter status, you have a major problem on your hands. As you are probably aware, once you are absent for more than 30 days, you are declared a deserter and a federal warrant is issued for your arrest. A simple speeding ticket by your local police can result in your immediate arrest, transfer back to the military, confinement, a punitive discharge and a federal conviction that will be on your record for the rest of your life. If you are ready to bring your problems to a conclusion, we can assist you. We will coordinate your return to the military, in many cases in a manner to avoid any pre-trial confinement, and thereafter we will endeavor to secure your administrative discharge from the military, hopefully avoiding any criminal record or confinement. If your command insists on a Courts-Martial, we will attempt to secure a favorable disposition to minimize the long term effects upon you.

POSITIVE URINALYSIS
When a member of the military tests positive on a urinalysis for illegal drugs, he will face adverse action which will very likely lead to the termination of his career, as well as a possible federal conviction and confinement. Greg McCormack has defended hundreds of urinalysis cases over the years and he will provide extremely aggressive representation in a Courts-Martial or Administrative Separation action. If you have tested positive for drugs, it is crucial that you seek out competent legal advice BEFORE you make any statements or accept Non-Judicial Punishment.

APPEALS OF COURTS-MARTIAL
Patrick Flynn’s vast experience as a military trial and appellate attorney gives our firm the ability to provide prompt and effectively evaluation of a record of trial to ascertain what appellate issues exist in a case, and then to prepare the appellate brief and argue the case on appeal before the military appellate courts.  If you have already been convicted by a Courts-Martial, your appeal process is your final hope to obtain vindication. The military’s appellate system consists of two levels, the Court of Appeals of the particular armed force involved and the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. The Supreme Court of the United States also has jurisdiction over military Courts-Martial appeals.

The appellate process regrettably is a very long, drawn out process that can take a number of years to complete. The military will provide you with an appointed attorney to handle your appeal, however chances are good that the appointed attorney has absolutely no actual trial experience. Furthermore, your case will possibly be shuffled between several attorneys due to military transfers of your lawyer while your case is pending appellate review.

We will conduct a detailed review and analysis of your record of trial and, if we are of the opinion that there are issues that are worthy of appellate action, we will effectively brief the case, petition the appellate courts for relief and argue the appeal before the military’s appellate courts, as well as the US Supreme Court if necessary.

If upon the review of your case we feel there is not a basis to warrant the expense related to an appeal, we will tell you just that - so that you can avoid expending funds unnecessarily.