U.S. Judge Blocks Watada's Second Court-martial
TACOMA, Wash.-The Army cannot hold a second court-martial for an Iraq war objector until the resolution of the soldier's claim that it would violate his right against double jeopardy, a federal judge ruled.
The first court-martial for 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, who is charged with missing his unit's deployment to Iraq in June 2006, ended in a mistrial in February. U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle wrote Nov. 8 that the military judge likely abused his discretion in declaring the mistrial.
Watada's second court-martial had been scheduled to begin last month when his lawyers asked the federal court to step in. The soldier contends a second trial would violate his rights by trying him twice for the same charges.
Watada contends that the war in Iraq is illegal and that he would be party to war crimes if he served there. He is also charged with conduct unbecoming an officer for denouncing President George W. Bush and the war. If convicted, he could be sentenced to six years in prison and be dishonorably discharged.
"This is an enormous victory, but it is not yet over," Watada attorney Kenneth Kagan said in a statement.
The federal judge did not indicate what the next steps would be.
Watada's term of service in the military ended in December, but the legal proceedings have prevented his discharge. He lives in Olympia and continues to perform administrative duties at Fort Lewis, south of Seattle.
Watada's decision to refuse deployment orders has stirred debate within the Japanese American community. The JACL national board - which voted in September to strengthen its support of the first lieutenant - issued a statement shortly after Settle's ruling pointing out that "serious issues of fairness" have been raised in Watada's case.
"While legal minds and good people can disagree about Lt. Watada's beliefs in this case, the JACL is committed to raising awareness and educating other organizations about his principled stand to ensure he is treated with fairness and receives due process within the U.S. military justice system and under the U.S. Constitution," the statement went on to say.
An Army spokesman at Fort Lewis said Nov. 8 that officials had just received the ruling and could not immediately comment.
Watada supporters in California, New York and Washington are organizing vigils on the first and third Saturdays of each month beginning Nov 3. to urge the Army to drop all charges against Watada.
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