I’m still following the CNN story about the Killings at the Canals, and this piece today about the soldier who finally broke silence and reported the murders, Jess Cunningham, included this charming tidbit:
Based on Cunningham’s information, the Army launched an investigation in January 2008.
Asked why he did not report the crime earlier, Cunningham said, “Retaliation. Fear of being alone, fear of being the only one that had a problem with it, fear of so many things that could have happened to me.”
Cunningham was among 13 soldiers at the canal. He and another sergeant were charged with conspiracy to commit premeditated murder, but the charges were dropped. Cunningham received immunity for testifying.
David Court, who is Hatley’s attorney, said Cunningham “did not come forward for any altruistic motive. He only mentioned this because he thought it would get him less punishment. He didn’t do it because he thought, ‘I’ve got to blow the whistle.’ “
Court said, “If I were Sgt. Cunningham, I’d be worried that, having broken the band of brothers, something might happen to me.”
Cunningham said that is exactly why he did not come forward earlier.
How is that not intimidating a witness? How is that legal? And maybe people unfamiliar with the military don’t get it, but for those of you who do, can you not see right away the sort of cult-like following that Hatley had in that unit? We’ve all seen this dynamic. The more I read about this company, the more dysfunctional it sounds.
EdTheRed
If I were David Court, I’d be worried that, having violated my professional ethics and threatened a witness, I might be disbarred.
neill
Cunningham is “fair game” — like Karl Rove said Valerie Plame was, like George Tiller was.
In a nihilistic society, lawlessness and scapegoating are powerful practices. We live in a very sick society.
asiangrrlMN
@EdTheRed: Ditto this. That is sickening and disturbing. I’m sure it happens often in the military, but still. Thanks, Cole, for continuing to highlight this story. We need to know about this shit.
Xenos
@EdTheRed: Exactly. Where does this asshat practice?
Zifnab
What? He’s just say’n.
Also, those are some really nice kneecaps you’ve got there. Be a shame if something… happened to them.
Seriously, though. Is the military that fucked up that they’re willing to defend wanton murder like that? I mean, do you really want to be standing shoulder to shoulder in a fox hole a guy you just saw run over a stray dog for fun? Or someone that goes into berserk killing fits?
At a certain point, it just seems bizarre to defend this sort of behavior. I mean, you only have to look as far as the Ft. Hood shooting to recognize that guys who go screwy in the head aren’t safe to be around.
tamied
I just got a vision of Charles Manson in my head.
MikeJ
It’s not just a warning to Cunningham. It’s a warning to anybody who has witnessed American war crimes. Squeal and they’ll kill you.
When are they adding a “No snitchin” shoulder patch?
aimai
Leave No Witness Behind!
aimai
The Grand Panjandrum
Who the hell were the commissioned officers and other NCO’s in the chain of command? Combat units are pretty tight knit but you are right to characterize this as a cult-like following. I think young troops are subject to hero worship and the chain of command is generally on the lookout for guys like Hatley.
I wonder if anyone is writing a book yet.
MikeJ
To be fair, this was the murderer’s attorney. It’s not the Army threatening Cunningham. Everybody is entitled to a defense. This attorney stepped over the line though.
dmsilev
Also, a quick tip for Mr Court. The phrase “band of brothers” is probably not the one you meant to use. That generally refers to people banding together for some noble cause. Given what your client is accused of, maybe “breaking omerta” would be a better term.
-dms
Joel
Some clownshoes local newspaper is advancing the “idea” that those Iraqis had it coming.
But the good news is that you can reach David Court at: [email protected]
Mark S.
Yeah, because the last eight years have been really kind to whistle-blowers.
eric
I could not see anywhere if Court was a Military lawyer. Were he so, it would almost certainly constitute conduct unbecoming…..
Zifnab
@MikeJ:
Unless the attorney is suggesting that he, personally, is going to make “something happen” to Cunningham, I can only assume the accidental shove in front of tank treads is going to come from another irate brotherly bandit.
It’s the sort of thing a mob attorney says to you, right before fat guys in track suits show up at your kid’s birthday party armed to the teeth.
And, I mean, that’s the best parallel here. This guy isn’t in the US Army. He’s in the mob.
Midnight Marauder
@eric:
His conduct is unbecoming of a human being in decent society. Who gives a fuck if he’s a military lawyer or not?
Napoleon
I don’t know how that could not be interpreted as witness intimidation.
Well I checked the Ohio attorney registrations and he is not registered in Ohio. Too bad, I would have filed a complaint in a heart beat.
Paul in KY
I think Sgt. Cunningham was probably right to wait until Germany to tell the truth. Germany, basically everywhere but Iraq & Afganistan, is like stateside: very few troops carrying around loaded firearms.
In Iraq, everyone is packing & you know, an ‘accident’ could occur where a soldier ‘drops’ his weapon & it discharges right into Sgt. Cunningham’s forehead. Damdest thing, it was.
I’m glad he came forward. He did the right thing, accepted his punishment, and can sleep at night.
eyepaddle
Maybe if we’re lucky Stuart Koehl will show up in this thread too to tell us how much military history he knows… ? …ergo Hatley’s lawyer is above reproach.
Or something.
Bubblegum Tate
Right after they put Chris Partlow and Snoop on Cunningham.
celticdragon
@The Grand Panjandrum:
It looks to me like the Officers were AWOL in this unit, and the NCO’s were calling the shots. That can work in some cases, since NCO’s are supposed to be able to pick up the slack and be leaders…but we obviously had the wrong people in the wrong places in this unit. Damn.
Silver Owl
Band of Brothers my ass. Band of wretched homicidal piss poor assholes is more like it.
When my nephews went into the Marines and Navy I made sure and still make sure to remind them that the military does have assholes too and that they are not to accept piss poor behavior just bcause the arse wear’s a similar uniform. The country requires smart people to defend them not gullible dorks being the chew toy of overbearing manipulative morons.
celticdragon
@Paul in KY:
Yep. Bad things can happen when you go out on patrol.
Paul in KY
Damnded straight, celticdragon. It’s a shame, but that’s how it seems to work sometimes.
Napoleon
David Court is registered in Cali but appears to be working out of Frankfurt Germany.
Do we have any California attorneys here that would like to bring this to the attention of the California Bar?
inkadu
Remember several years ago there was a report about US soldiers in Vietnam shooting folks under a bridge during the war? I remember it making a huge media splash at the time. Haven’t heard of this canal story anywhere but here… this country is even more amoral than usual.
And from what I’ve heard about the military, I’d despair of ever getting justice on stuff like this. It is the mob, but worse, because you don’t live in the mob boss’ house.
eric
@Midnight Marauder: Here is why it matters: He can be court martialed. My comment was not a measure of the worth of the statement, but on the practical consequences of making the statement.
By analogy, for the lawyers in the house, there is an absolute privilege defense to defamation for statements made in a legal proceeding. But, those statements made by a lawyer, while not actionable civilly, are actionable under the applicable court rules for making arguments or claims without a good faith basis in fact or law. So the Birther Queen and her clients cannot be liable for defaming Obama in court filings, but they can be liable under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules with a much lower showing than malice.
eric
Legalize
Targeting witnesses and/or making them fearful to testify is fair game when literally everything is a partisan issue, and especially when the President is a black Muslim – maybe gay, maybe not even American. Who knows? We’ll just leave it right there.
jenniebee
@Zifnab:
War, and especially modern industrial warfare, dehumanizes the people who survive it. You couldn’t survive a battle if you saw the humanity of your enemies or felt the suffering of the creatures, human or otherwise, that get caught in the slaughter. The people who can’t shut off their innate empathy either snap or die. That’s the price of war, even for the winners.
The army has to be willing, when we ask it to fight, to demand dehumanization of its troops and tolerate it in its troops, or else it would cease to be functional as an army. But that’s all the more reason that we have to be judicious in deciding to go to war.
Paul in KY
Inkadu, the incidents you mentioned above took place during the early stages of the Korean War. We have so many (wars), it’s easy to get them mixed up ;-)
Brandon
Not to be the only one here to try to calm the pitchforks, because what David Court said was reprehensible. But this guy is just a run of the mill criminal defense attorney for soldiers facing court martial. Considering that he went to San Fernando Valley College of Law, he is probably quite affordable. From my research, he seems to have had a lot of cases, including representing Augustin Aguayo, who was a conscientious objector who refused to return to Iraq and was a liberal cause celebre for a short time. He is just a lawyer being probably a bit too vigorous in representing his client, nothing more, nothing less.
jenniebee
OMG I just read the comments thread at that article. I need to go hug a puppy and cry now.
Napoleon
OT, but a poll reports a majority of Republicans now believe Obama’s victory was stoled.
Seriously.
Civil wars break out and coups occur in countries where substantial minorities (or majorities) of the people no longer view their government as legitimate.
Ivan Ivanovich Renko
@jenniebee: This.
Because war is about killing people and destroying things; and “no soldier comes home unwounded.”
Comrade Scrutinizer
My favorite so far is this bit:
__
So—Hatley’s like Judge Dredd?
soonergrunt
I said this in an earlier thread, but it bears repeating:
Roger Moore
@Comrade Scrutinizer: That’s about what I thought. He thought there wasn’t enough evidence to hold them, but that there was enough to justify summary execution. That seems like a totally fucked up world view.
soonergrunt
@eric: The lawyer, Mr. Court, is a civilian member of the military bar.
ChrisS
@soonergrunt:
But you don’t know anything about military history or foreign policy an’ Barack Obama obviously doesn’t either. Also, ACORN.
donovong
This week, I was watching the History Channel’s new week-long series “World War 2 in HD,” and there was a brief discussion of a similar situation. Four German soldiers were captured and were sent to the rear by the LT. They went a few yards down the road and, once out of sight, the escort ended up shooting all of the prisoners. Turned out the escort was Jewish and extracted some revenge for his people. The LT said he wanted to throttle the guy, but they had to get their war on, so onward they went.
That reminded me of this situation in Iraq. Some things never change.
War sucks.
Midnight Marauder
@eric:
Very good points all around.
eric
@soonergrunt: then, he likely faces two problems: one is the state license (california, I believe) and sanctions from the military court. Were i the prosecutor, I would go at him hard for this.
In fact, you have the prefect analogy to the “torturers.” When a member of your guild steps so far out of line as to jeopardize the legitimacy of the enterprise, then you have an obligation to seek a review of that conduct by a higher authority. Any claims that he was just being a zealous advocate (even if 1000 legitimate times before) is akin to saying that they are soldiers doing a tough job or a cop violating Miranda because he knows the guy is guilty. Certain rules are darn near inviolable. Whether he should lose his license should be up to a hearing officer based upon past conduct. But he should be punished.
eric
Cassidy
@Roger Moore: It’s not that uncommon a sentiment actually, especially in 05 and 06 when things got realy bad. We’d detain people all the time for various things and and then “poof”, Iraqi Court system let’s them go. The Iraqi Court system has a pretty high standard of proof, but a low threshold of acceptable bribes.
Cassidy
Also, having known people in that unit, after the fact, I would be willing to bet that Cunningham only came forward to cover his ass. More than those few there knew the story and the story was going to come out.
Cassidy
Eh. Anyone who’s spent more than a year in combat arms know’s the type.
maus
The murder of civilians is not a “human interest” story and has no place in our 24/7 news cycle.
maus
Maybe if one of the murdered was a pretty blonde pageant contestant…
Bob (Not B.o.B.)
@Napoleon:
David Court is registered in Cali but appears to be working out of Frankfurt Germany.
Do we have any California attorneys here that would like to bring this to the attention of the California Bar?
Hey, his e-mail is posted there.
Huh.
MBSS
haven’t seen this story yet. i’ll have to check it out.
c
Can nobody read? The timeline says they have already been
convicted. It is not at all clear when Court said what he said.
If it was for this article, that is well after the trial. How is that intimidation of witness?
Asshole, yes. Witness intimidation – time travelers only need apply.
Clark
Ever see the movie Das Experiment?
AhabTRuler
@c: Yes, obviously, as there are no such things as appeals, rehearings, or the filing of additional charges, &c. &c.
Christ, what a dim…
cj
@MikeJ: And people only think that-that “No snitchin” saying is a hood thing.
Nancy Irving
Court needs to be taken off the case, discharged from the service and disbarred.
Jon H
He’s a member of the California Bar.
His web site’s contact info page is here:
david-court.com/contact.htm
Greg M
Court’s comments were in the paper again today which insensed me again. Thank you to Joh H and others for the information. I have not had much faith in the California Bar, though. During the last economic downturn in the 1990s the bar did not have any investigators. Someone at the Bar should take action against one of its members embarrassing them like this at the very least.
It was just this type of irresponsible statement from a defense attorney that led to the murder of a 20-year Air Force female in Iceland. The attorney said, “If she wasn’t around, the case against you would go away.” So the defendent, who had stolen the girl’s ATM card and stolen funds from her, hit her over the head while she was watching TV with a dumbell. This led to the first capital murder trial for the Air Force, which was held in DC.
The soldier that Court ridiculed for waitng until he got back from Iraq to report the murders must be feeling fear enough for his life already without this dip Court inciting others.