Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog
Salem News has an article about “SEALs pulled from Iraq.” The article is a lengthy one. From the article here is why there is at least one pending (possible) appellate case.
- The Navy fired three SEAL leaders in the aftermath of the alleged rape on the Iraq air base and charged Special Warfare Operator First Class Adel A. Enayat, an enlisted SEAL, with sexual assault, aggravated assault via strangulation and assault by battery for allegedly biting the victim on the face, according to his charge sheet. He faces a court-martial in November.
- A hearing in the case was held Friday at Naval Base San Diego. At the hearing, Jeremiah Sullivan, the lawyer for the SEAL, said he was concerned Enayat, who identifies as “non-white,” cannot get a fair trial because of systemic racism in the military justice system, pointing out that there are no Black judges on the Navy bench.
It appears that the defense is picking up on the ongoing public and political issue of racism across the military justice process.
Query, even if there were Black judges on the NMC trial judiciary, so what? Does that mean the next argument is that whenever the accused is Black then a Black judge must be assigned to the case?