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On May 1, 2008,
Richard V. Stevens, of Stevens & Brash, L.L.C, won an acquittal in
the case of Sgt. Leonardo Treviño.
The week before, Frank Spinner, a counsel with the firm, defended SFC
Corrales in a separate case. For background on the cases, see
here and
here.
Rich sent this message for readers of Defend Our Troops and Defend Our
Marines.
________________________________________________________
10 May 2008
It
is very difficult and confusing for our military members and their
families, who have sacrificed and contributed so much to the
military's missions, to suddenly face accusations of crimes out of
combat in the Middle East. Support—both moral support and financial
support—are incredibly important for our troops and their families
emotionally, and to cover the costs of defending these cases.
In
order to properly defend our troops against these allegations, it
takes a considerable amount of time and effort. For example, there
were multiple pretrial hearings—Article 32 hearing, pretrial
confinement hearing, motion hearing—in the Treviño case. There was the
need to make multiple trips to Ft Hood to interview all the necessary
witnesses. There was the need to spend a lot of time at Ft Hood
preparing for trial, and then defending the case in trial. Some of
these cases require trips to the Middle East—which means even more
time away and more expense.
Most attorneys who specialize in military law, like we do, travel from
our offices to the bases/locations where the cases are being held. These trips mean time away from other cases and considerable expenses
for us to essentially live at the location of the trial for periods in
which we're preparing the case and then trying the case. Without the
donations the Treviños received, it would have been virtually
impossible for them, or any similarly situated military family, to
afford the defense provided.
I
certainly feel guilty for saying that. I would love to be in a
position to provide defenses to these troops for free. They sacrifice
so much for us. But, the reality is that we turn away cases/clients to
ensure we have the time necessary to devote to defending these cases,
and we amass such considerable expenses in travel and working out of
distant locations, that it isn't financially possible for us to defend
these cases pro bono.
The support we received in these cases was so vital to a proper
defense. Looking back, after two full acquittals (Treviño and
Corrales), all the time and effort we poured into these defenses was
well worth it.
I
just hope Defend Our Troops and Defend Our Marines
continues to raise and receive similar support for other cases you're
involved in. It is truly crucial for these families.
We
thank everyone who expressed their support for our clients and their
families—whether it was words of encouragement or financial donations.
Both were so important for a successful defense—you all played a part
in these victories.
Sincerely,
Rich Stevens
RICHARD
V. STEVENS, Esquire
LAW OFFICES OF STEVENS & BRASH, L.L.C.
Law
Firm Web:
www.militaryadvocate.com
Law
Firm Blog:
www.militaryadvocate.blogspot.com
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