Watada Court-Martial Ends in Mistrial

Oh, this is simply too good for words. The case against First Lt. Ehren Watada, the young American who refused deployment to Iraq on the grounds that the war was illegal, has had his case withdrawn from court and the judge has decided that a mistrial has taken place.

In a stunning defeat for military prosecutors, Lt. Col. John Head, the military judge presiding over Watada's court-martial, said he had no choice but to declare a mistrial because military prosecutors and Watada's defense attorney could not reach an agreement regarding the characterization of a stipulation agreement Watada signed before the start of his court-martial.

The judge characterized the stipulation agreement as an admission of guilt by Watada for "missing movement" and making statements against the Iraq war. Eric Seitz, Watada's attorney, said the stipulation Watada signed, however, was by no means an admission of guilt by his client. Rather, it was a statement of fact that his client believed the Iraq war was illegal, and that he refused to deploy to the region with his unit because of his beliefs.

Lt. Col. Head said he wanted to question Watada regarding the agreement to gain a better understanding of what Watada's state of mind was when he signed it, but Seitz would not allow the judge to question his client unless he knew the questions in advance. Head said if he could not question Watada to ensure the accuracy of the document he signed prior to the start of the court-martial, he would have to throw out the agreement, meaning the charges against Watada would become null and void.

Seitz then asked for time to speak to his client. After a 30 minute recess Seitz informed the court that he had advised his client to not answer the judge's questions, but Lt. Watada had agreed to answer against his legal advice.

Issues surrounding the stipulation agreement came up when military prosecutors asked the judge to provide the military panel (similar to a civilian jury) deciding Watada's fate with additional instructions before they returned a verdict. Head said the basis of the additional instructions could result in questions about the "stipulation of fact" regarding Watada's reasons for refusing to deploy to Iraq.

The judge did not indicate the substance of the additional instructions the defense asked him to provide. Head excoriated military prosecutors in open court for producing the stipulation agreement hours before he declared the mistrial. He said he would allow the government to reopen the case against Watada, but it's unclear whether the military will do so.

I am finding other reports that differ from this one and state that a new trial date has been set for March 19, although it is understood that Watada's lawyers are planning to argue that this amounts to double jeopardy - more than one prosecution for the same alleged crime.

After the mistrial was declared, Seitz said he didn't think his client could be tried again because it would be the equivalent of double jeopardy. Should the Army proceed with a second trial, Seitz said he would seek dismissal of the charges with prejudice so they could not be refiled.

If that request is not granted, he will appeal, he said.

"Our hope is, at this point, that the Army will realize that this case is a hopeless mess," Seitz said.

Lt. Col. Robert Resnick of the Judge Advocate General's office at Fort Lewis said double jeopardy does not apply.

In their opening statements Tuesday, prosecutors said Watada abandoned his soldiers and brought disgrace upon himself and the service by accusing the Army of war crimes and denouncing the Bush administration.

Seitz countered that Watada acted in good conscience, based on his own convictions.

I am sure that the army will fight this all the way; however, if they had any sense this would be a really good time just to let this one go. It serves no purpose to jail this young man for taking a principled stance.

I, for one, am delighted that the case against him has collapsed. Hopefully, this will be the end of the matter. Although, from the behaviour of the US Army up until this point, I won't be holding my breath.

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tag: Ehren Watada, Iraq, Iraq war, mistrial,