COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- There was nothing left to say, First Lieutenant John Smith stood to attention as the jury of Air Force service members returned to the courtroom; guilty.
A cast of volunteer actors played out the courtroom drama of providing opening statements, presentation of evidence, closing arguments and sentencing while Legal staff provided narration explaining the proceedings to the audience.
The 14th Flying Training Wing Staff Judge Advocate Office in partnership with the Maxwell Air Force Base Area Defense Counsel and the Kessler Air Force Base Victim’s Counsel, broke outside of the standard slide show training box and took to the Kaye Auditorium stage to educate CAFB personnel on the roles and resources of the Legal office and the military justice system during a mock general court-martial scenario.
The team presented a fictitious sexual assault case to highlight the role of the Victim’s Counsel and also highlight and dispel misconceptions about sexual assault in the military.
“Mock trials are a frequently used education tool in the legal career field,” said Master Sgt. Ashley D. Ishmon, 14th Flying Training Wing, Staff Judge Advocate office superintendent. “Our Staff Judge Advocate, Maj. Kristin Carl, developed this specific fact pattern and script while she was stationed at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey.”
Working together with the support elements of an actual trial provided an added layer of realism to the event.
“The overall goal was to give Columbus AFB an inside view of how the court-martial process works from allegation to investigation through trial. We invited the Area Defense Counsel Team (Capt Malya Robertson and SSgt Quest Largent), the Victim’s Counsel at Keesler (SrA Lenoir, the Victim’s Paralegal played as the Victim’s Counsel), to play their actual roles and answer questions from the audience,” said Ishmon. “We put on Professional Development training in the form of Progressive Discipline training, and we offer our expertise to brief at Commander Calls and serve as advisors to all frontline supervisors, senior enlisted leaders, and commanders to present preventative law information as a go-to resource for maintaining good order and discipline within their units.”
The event brought attention to the decision-making process for legal proceedings on an individual basis for each unique case.
“Our mock court-martial showcases that there are no typical sexual assault fact patterns, and no two cases are the same,” said Ishmon.
The mock trial emphasized the differences in consent as well as alcohol use in relation to sexual assault charges.
“Consent means a freely given agreement to the conduct at issue by a competent person,” said Ishmon. “An incompetent person is a person who is incapable of appraising the nature of the conduct at issue, or physically incapable of declining participation in or communicating unwillingness to engage in the sexual act at issue”.
“Consumption of alcohol does not always render a person incompetent for purposes of consent. All the surrounding circumstances are to be considered in determining whether a person gave consent,” she said.
The 14th FTW SJA Office plan to continue collaborations and training events similar to the mock trial in the future.
"The 14 FTW SJA office is here to assist with all matters related to the UCMJ and assurance of good order and discipline,” said Ishmon. “We understand that the law can be challenging to interpret and are here to provide clarity and advice to all leaders and personnel of the installation.”