I was just wandering how long does his process usually take?? My husband just found out he is getting court martialed. They said a lawyer should be contacting him next week. What are the chances of him not having to serve time? We are at Camp Lejeune, his time to get out is in DEC. He is in trouble for Larceny. He says he is going to try to plea bargain. I don't know what to expect and it is driving me crazy. Thanks for any information.

Most court martials take place within 2-3 months from my understanding. It all depends on the size of the case, when they can get in front of a judge etc. Military courts are not usually as busy as civilian so you should have your case finished before the holidays. But the lawyer that will be assigned to your husbands case can give you a better idea of how long you guys will be waiting. Good luck and I hope the prosecution is able to offer your husband a good plea bargain. That is normally what happens in most cases is the defendants plead out. So you may not even have to go through a whole court martial. Good luck and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

Erin

Solorach,
Has your husband had his Article 32 hearing (one where the Investigating Officer hears the evidence from both sides and then decides if there is enough to go to the next stage-court-martial) yet? If he did, he should already have an appointed counsel. The length of time it takes to resolve the case can depend on a lot of factors--procedural delays by both the prosecutor and the defense, delays waiting for evidence to be processed, delays waiting for witnesses to become available--in short, any number of things can slow down the process but the government must bring him to trial (court-martial) within 270 days from his arraignment unless the delays can be shown not to be prejudicial or for good cause. Check out some of the link posted in this forum on other posts (Military Legal Links, Overview of the UCMJ, etc.) There is a lot of information available that will help you understand what can be a very frustrating process. Good luck and we're here to listen or to help you find answers to your questions.

~ Lisa

My case was rather complicated, but it took the Army about a year from the time I was arrested to actually bring the case to trial. I seem to recall it took 4-6 months before they even held the Article 32 hearing. I did no plead out (the best deal the prosecution would offer was four years and dismissal from service.). I held out and went to trial facing over 100 years possible confinement time -pretty impressive, considering there was no victim in the crime. I received 30 months and a dismissal. I actually served 15 months and the dismissal was overturned by the convening authority on the condition that I retire (I had 20 years service). After release, it took over three years before the Army finally let me get on the retirement rolls.
I have to tell you, I was tempted to take the deal. My army lawyer talked me out of it, because he thought we could do better in a full trial (we did). In many respects, I consider myself both lucky and very blessed.