Service members charged with serious crimes face a stacked deck when subjected to Courts Martial or command investigations. Congress’ recently enacted overhaul of the UCMJ, which focuses most particularly on the prosecution of sex offenses, raises serious concerns about whether the military can treat accused service members fairly. The attorneys at Aidala Bertuna & Kamins PC understand these dynamics, and the intense political pressure that often bears down on the military chain of command to charge service members even when the evidence against them is weak.
The best way to ensure a favorable outcome is to have the most experienced military defense attorney in your corner, one who knows the system inside and out. Our military justice team is led by retired Military Judge Michael C. Farkas, who served a long career as an Army JAG and MP officer and also prosecuted and defended U.S. Army Soldiers before Courts Martial and every level of administrative proceedings.
Types of Military Defense Cases
Each military department’s chain of command has broad authority to investigate and prosecute misconduct, both criminally and administratively. Even non-criminal separation actions have the potential for devastating consequences to a service member’s future. For example, an “other than “honorable” can negatively affect a service member for life.
The types of military cases that we handle include:
- General, Special, and Summary Courts Martial
- Non-Judicial Punishment (“Article 15” or “Captain’s Mast”) matters
- Command inquiries and investigations
- Administrative Separations/Misconduct Boards
- Inspector General investigations
Note that before we accept any case, our military defense team will first review with you any entitlements to no-cost legal services from your respective service. Doing so ensures that every potential client has the tools they need to make the right individual decision about hiring private counsel.
ABOUT JUDGE FARKAS
The Honorable Michael C. Farkas (Ret) is a retired Military Judge who served for 28 years with the United States Army Reserve. As an officer in the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps, Mr. Farkas served with distinction in every capacity relating to military justice, and further concentrated in the Law of Armed Conflict, detention operations, and Rule of Law missions, ultimately earning a secondary operational specialty in the Military Police Corps. As a deployed active duty military prosecutor assigned to U.S. Army Europe, Mr. Farkas tried Soldiers charged with serious crimes before General Courts Martial and trained local Military Police and Army Criminal Investigation Division personnel. Rising through the ranks, he later became a Regional Defense Counsel and then Deputy Commander of an Army Reserve Trial Defense Services Unit. He also handled scores of adverse administrative board and non-judicial punishment (Article 15) proceedings throughout his career, as both government and defense counsel. In 2020 he was selected as a Military Judge and assigned to the Army Trial Judiciary’s 1st Judicial Circuit, where he presided over General Courts Martial until his retirement in 2023. In his civilian career, Mr. Farkas is a prominent New York City trial attorney and respected figure in the fields of criminal justice, securities litigation, and attorney discipline. He is a former homicide prosecutor, a former Wall Street in-house counsel, a currently serving Bar leader, and a member of his jurisdiction’s attorney grievance committee. Click here for Mr. Farkas’ full biography.
