ADC takes the case

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman David Y. Zheng
  • 2d Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  Barksdale's Area Defense Council provides free assistance to base Airmen against adverse actions towards their career such as court martial's, discharges and administrative forms of punishment such as Article 15's and letters of reprimand. 

The most common charges against Airmen include uniform code of military justice violations such as drug consumption or distribution, larcenies, assaults, sexual assaults, child pornography, do-it-yourself move fraud and driving under the influence. 

To become an ADC a judge advocate general must first be assigned to a legal office as a prosecutor. At the legal office JAGs gain experience practicing military law through prosecuting cases. 

"We focus on one thing and that's defending Airmen against actions the military is taking against them," said Capt. Ernst Martzen, ADC. "We're really insistent that everybody comes in and talks to us about their individual circumstances." 

The earlier an Airman consults with an ADC the more helpful they can be. The ADC can help plan the next course of action so Airmen don't dig themselves into a deeper hole. 

"As soon as anything is served on you or if you find out about anything that's going to happen to you, the moment you get in trouble or somebody suspects you of getting in trouble come see us as soon as possible," said Staff Sgt. Stephen Smith, ADC defense paralegal. "Unfortunately sometimes we get folks in here when it's too late. We can't really assist them like we could if we would've got with them before, or at an earlier point." 

Airmen who visit the ADC have an attorney-client privilege which guarantees 100 percent confidentially regarding past activity. Anything told to an ADC cannot be released without written express from the client. 

Unlike most units on Barksdale, the ADC does not report to anyone within the command structure on base. Instead they report to an independent chain of command. 

"We do it so they don't influence us," said Captain Martzen. "If I think a commander is being particularly hard on my client I can confront them about it and not fear any kind of reprisal." 

Captain Martzen explained that commanders make the prosecutorial decisions in the military which is different from civilian cases. Usually a squadron commander makes the decision to start a case against an individual who has done something. Whether or not the case continues is usually up to the wing commander; or if it's a big case, like a general court martial, it's up to the convening authority at the numbered air force. 

Ever since the 1966 Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona; law enforcements officers must read suspects their Miranda warnings before conducting a custodial interrogation. The constitutional rights safeguarded by Miranda are the Fifth Amendment, right against compelled self incrimination, and the Sixth Amendment, the right to counsel. 

"An important thing is to know their rights," explains Captain Martzen. "Not every case is it best for an Airman to exercise their right to remain silent, but, most of time it is. A lot of the Airmen who are in a bad situation make it worse because they confess. Sometimes that confession and what comes out of it is the only thing the government has against them." 

A win for the ADC doesn't have to come with the drama and suspense of an episode of Law and Order. 

"As a defense council we like to say our biggest wins are ones that are never even on the radar," said Captain Martzen. "In some cases that could have resulted in a court martial, hard work got the punishment down to a letter of reprimand, no action or verbal counseling. It's not like an acquittal where you go and beat the case in front of a jury; ideally you don't even want to go that far." 

So while the ADC will defend Airmen against any negative military action; it's best to heed Benjamin Franklin's famous words, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." 

Captain Martzen advises Airmen to think before they act and that regardless of guilt or innocence they should evoke their right to counsel.