Acquittal of Former Marine in Landmark Case Expected to Cause Change in Legislation, Says Defense Team.
Orange County Pepper Hamilton Attorney Serves on "Marine Dream Team" That Obtains Historic Acquittal on Behalf of Pro Bono Client
IRVINE, Calif. -- The recent landmark case of United States of America vs. Jose Luis Nazario, Jr. tested the power and scope of the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act of 2000 (MEJA), and the swift acquittal underscores flaws in the law that could lead to legislative changes to the Act, said the team of lawyers who represented the former Marine.
Mr. Nazario's defense team, dubbed the "Marine Dream Team" because it included former and retired Marines, consisted of retired Major Kevin McDermott, retired Colonel Douglas Applegate, former Sergeant Joseph Preis and civilian Vincent LaBarbera.
The four attorneys represented Nazario in the first case in which a former member of the U.S. Armed Forces was tried in a civilian criminal court, as opposed to a military court martial, for allegedly committing a crime during combat operations.
A jury in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California acquitted Nazario of all charges on August 28, 2008, after less than six hours of deliberations.
"Although the war is finally over for Mr. Nazario, the government's ability to impanel 12 civilians to sit in judgment over the actions of a Marine in combat is unconscionable and must be reevaluated by Congress," said Marine Dream Team member Joseph M. Preis, an attorney in the Orange County office of Pepper Hamilton LLP (www.pepperlaw.com).
"In addition to playing Monday morning quarterback, MEJA prosecutions in general, and the Nazario case in particular, present insurmountable challenges to successful prosecutions," according to Kevin McDermott, lead counsel for the Marine Dream Team. "Removing military aspects completely from the Nazario case, the U.S. government sought to convict a man of killing another human being without producing a body, the alleged victims' I.D., any eyewitness testimony, or a shred of physical evidence. The Constitutional implications were and continue to be enormous, as long as MEJA remains on the books."
MEJA was designed to permit the prosecution, in U.S. district court, of Department of Defense contractors, subcontractors, and the civilian dependants of active-duty military personnel who commit crimes on foreign soil. It also provides for the prosecution of former military members no longer subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), like Nazario, although there is no pre-bill mention of former service members in the Congressional record.
