When the actions of government become dangerous to the security of the nation, it takes a special courage for men and women inside the government to speak out. If we care about keeping democracy alive, we must welcome this book. "

         —Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the U.S.

During the run-up to war in Iraq, Army Colonel (Ret.) and diplomat Ann Wright resigned her State Department post. She was one among dozens of government insiders and active-duty military personnel who leaked documents, spoke out, resigned, or refused to deploy in protest of government actions they felt were illegal. In Dissent: Voices of Conscience, Ann Wright and Susan Dixon tell the stories of these men and women, who risked careers, reputations, and even freedom out of loyalty to the Constitution and the rule of law.

by Aaron Glantz

Anti-War.com, Nov 10, 2007

First Lt. Ehren Watada, the first commissioned officer to refuse deployment to Iraq, won what his backers are calling a "huge victory" in court Thursday.

US District Court Judge Benjamin Settle ruled the military cannot put Watada on trial a second time unless it can prove such a trial would not violate the US Constitution's prohibition against "double jeopardy."

In February, Lt. Watada's first court martial ended in a mistrial just before he was to take the stand in his own defense. Many observers believe the judge, Lt. Col. John Head, ordered a mistrial in that case because he was worried that Lt. Watada's testimony would lead to him being found not guilty of "missing [troops] movement" and "conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman."

Immediately before a mistrial was declared, Watada had said: "Your Honor, I have always believed that I have a legal and moral defense. I realize that the government can make arguments and you can make rulings contrary to that, but that does not negate my belief that I have a defense."

"To me," Watada told the court, leading soldiers into battle in Iraq "means to participate in a war that I believe to be illegal."

Watada had hoped to make that argument under the so-called Nuremberg Principals which arose from trials of Nazi war criminals after World War II.

The fourth of the Nuremberg Principles says that superior orders are not a defense to the commission of an illegal act, meaning soldiers who commit a war crime because they were "just following orders" are just as culpable as their superiors.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Oct 19, 2007 

A federal judge in Tacoma is taking more time to decide whether Army Lt. Ehren Watada may be court martialed for refusing to fight in Iraq.

Judge Benjamin Settle extended his stay of the court martial proceedings at Fort Lewis until Nov. 9 to give him more time to review the legal records. An existing stay would have expired Oct. 26.

Settle is deciding whether the Army would be violating Watada's constitutional rights by trying him twice for the same crime. His first court martial in February ended in a mistrial because of a misunderstanding about evidence.

Watada is charged with missing his unit's deployment to Iraq in June 2006 and with conduct unbecoming an officer for denouncing President Bush and the war.

Jeremy Brecher & Brendan Smith

The Nation

October  12, 2007 (web only)

The double jeopardy clause of the US Constitution ensures that no American can be tried twice for the same offense. But at a time when our civil liberties are rapidly eroding, a drama is unfolding in Washington State over whether that constitutional protection applies to a US soldier.  After his February court-martial ended in a mistrial, Lt. Ehren Watada, the first commissioned officer to refuse to serve in Iraq, seemed certain to face a second court-martial on October 9 at Fort Lewis, an Army base near Tacoma. Three military courts had rejected Watada's claim of double jeopardy, finding no abuse of discretion by the military judge in declaring a mistrial. But in an unusual civilian intervention in a military legal process, US District Court Judge Benjamin Settle issued a last-minute stay October 5 in Tacoma, temporarily blocking the trial.  

USA: Conviction of war objector would violate international rights

5 October 2007

By Hal Bernton

Seattle Times staff reporter

The fate of 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, the first Army officer to face prison for refusing to deploy to Iraq, might be decided by a civilian judge rather than a military jury.

In a rare, last-minute move, U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle on Friday put Watada's Tuesday court-martial on hold. In the weeks ahead, Settle will decide whether this second trial should proceed, or be quashed as a violation of the officer's constitutional rights that protect against double jeopardy, or being tried twice for the same crime.

Watada's first trial unraveled in February when a military judge expressed misgivings over Watada's interpretation of a pretrial agreement. The judge, over objections by the defense, ruled a mistrial. Watada's attorneys argued that a second trial sought by Fort Lewis prosecutors would represent double jeopardy, and they unsuccessfully sought to persuade two military appeals courts to block the trial.

The defense attorneys turned to civilian courts this week. And the case was assigned to Settle, a longtime Shelton lawyer and President Bush appointee who assumed the judgeship this summer.

Associated Press, Honolulu Star Bulletin

October 6, 2007 

A U.S. judge puts the Army officer's second court-martial on hold and seeks information

TACOMA, Wash.  A federal court judge temporarily blocked yesterday a court-martial scheduled for Army 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, an Iraq war objector based at Fort Lewis.

The court-martial of Watada had been scheduled to start Tuesday. Watada's lawyers argue the Army is violating his constitutional rights by trying him twice for the same crime.

Watada, who is from Hawaii, is charged with missing his unit's deployment to Iraq in June 2006 and with conduct unbecoming an officer for denouncing President Bush and the war.

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle concluded that his court had jurisdiction on the request for an emergency stay because Watada "has exhausted his available military court remedies with respect to his double jeopardy claim."

Settle also decided that claim was "not frivolous."

By MIKE BARBER
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Oct 6, 2007

TACOMA, Wash. -- A federal judge has taken under advisement a bid by an Iraq war objector at Fort Lewis to bar his upcoming court-martial.

U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle heard arguments Thursday and indicated he would try to rule by late Friday - or by Tuesday, the day the court-martial is set to begin, said Ken Kagan, a lawyer for Army 1st Lt. Ehren Watada.

Monday is Columbus Day.

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Seattle Post Intelligencer, Oct 3, 2007

By GENE JOHNSON, AP LEGAL AFFAIRS WRITER

Seattle Post Intelligencer, Oct 3, 2008 

SEATTLE -- A Fort Lewis soldier charged with refusing to deploy to Iraq asked a federal court on Wednesday to bar his upcoming court-martial, saying that the Army is violating his constitutional rights by trying him twice for the same crime.

First Lt. Ehren Watada is accused of missing his unit's deployment in June 2006 and of conduct unbecoming an officer for making public comments denouncing President Bush and the Iraq war. If convicted, he could be sentenced to six years in prison and be dishonorably discharged.

"This is a remarkably clear case of an egregious violation of the double-jeopardy clause," Watada's lawyers, James Lobsenz and Kenneth Kagan, wrote in an emergency motion to block the court-martial, scheduled to begin Tuesday.

By The Associated Press

Seattle Post Intelligencer, July 17, 2007

By The Associated Press

Seattle Post Intelligencer, July 6, 2007

FORT LEWIS, Wash. -- Trying 1st Lt. Ehren Watada again for his refusal to deploy to Iraq won't violate his constitutional right not to be prosecuted twice for the same crime, an Army judge ruled Friday.

Watada's new lawyers, Kenneth Kagan and James Lobsenz, immediately filed notice they will appeal that double jeopardy ruling to the Army Court of Criminal Appeals in Arlington, Va.

By Melanthia Mitchell, Associated Press Writer, Seattle Post Intelligencer, May 18, 2007

SEATTLE -- The Army's court of appeals issued a partial stay Friday in the planned second trial for a Fort Lewis soldier who refused to go to Iraq and spoke out against the Bush administration.

The decision by the Army Court of Criminal Appeals in Arlington, Va., means the July 23 court-martial for 1st Lt. Ehren Watada could be on hold until the court reviews arguments from both sides.

The order allows for all pretrial hearings to continue, including one scheduled for June 5 at Fort Lewis, south of Tacoma.

"Assembly of the court-martial and all proceedings ordinarily following assembly of the court-martial are hereby stayed," the court said in its written order.

The court gave no indication when it would review lawyers' arguments.

SEATTLE -- A second court-martial is scheduled to begin July 16 for an Army lieutenant who refused to go to Iraq with his Fort Lewis-based Stryker brigade and spoke out against the Bush administration.

The first military trial for 1st Lt. Ehren Watada ended in mistrial after three days when the judge said he didn't believe Watada fully understood a pretrial agreement he'd signed and that would have cut his sentence to four years.

On Friday, the Army refiled charges of missing movement and conduct unbecoming an officer - the same charges Watada, 28, had initially faced. If convicted, Watada could be sentenced to six years in prison and be dishonorably discharged.

Pretrial motions have been set for May 20-21, with the court-martial scheduled to begin the week of July 16, according to the office of Eric Seitz, Watada's attorney based in Honolulu.

Seitz has said he will seek to have the charges dismissed as a violation of the Constitution's protection against double jeopardy. On Wednesday, he said he would likely file motions by April.

He said he and Watada still hope to reach some sort of an agreement with the military, but as of yet have had no communication with the Army, other than an e-mail listing the court dates.

The Army refiled charges yesterday against 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, the Kalani High School graduate whose refusal to deploy to Iraq and a war he deemed illegal gained international attention and served as a rallying point for the antiwar effort.

The charges, filed in Fort Lewis, Wash., come after a military judge declared a mistrial earlier this month in Watada's court-martial trial. 

Eric Seitz, Watada's attorney, said he was "surprised" the Army refiled the exact same charges and said he would try to have the charges thrown out as a violation of the Constitution's protection against double jeopardy.

Throughout the proceedings leading up to the mistrial, Army prosecutors made so many mistakes that "the military appellate courts would not let a conviction stand." 

"I think the Army has made so many bad mistakes in this case that the chances of them having a successful outcome are very slim," said Seitz, speaking from his Honolulu office yesterday.

"This case is such a mess, it doesn't make any sense for us to go forward. As far as I'm concerned they (Army prosecutors) are really behaving irrationally and recklessly, and I love it."