Lakin had intended, through a court martial, to resolve the nationwide dispute about Obama's eligibility to occupy the Oval Office.
Knowing he was risking imprisonment and dismissal from the service, Lakin deliberately disobeyed his superiors in order to force Obama to produce his birth certificate and documents related to his citizenship status.
His plan was frustrated when Col. Lind declared that Lakin's orders were legitimate, without addressing the underlying eligibility issue, and ruled to limit the scope of the trial to the narrow question of whether Lakin had knowingly disobeyed orders.
"This leaves us with a client who stands accused of missing the movement of an airplane, two failures to obey orders to meet his brigate commander, failure to report to Ft. Campbell, and failure to report to his unit," said Puckett.
"LTC Lakin asked many people to answer his questions about his misgivings about the legitimacy of the president, even the White House. He had a question that a lot of Americans have, a question that hasn't been answered by the legislative branch or by the judicial branch. When he received his orders he had a conscience issue, whether he'd be obeying lawful orders," Puckett explained.
"LTC Lakin is a doctor, not a lawyer," said Puckett. "He thought if he were to ask that question of the military courts, after being rebuffed in all other avenues, he'd get his answer. What he has discovered is that the military justice system cannot produce the answers to those questions. He could not have known, he was given inadequate legal advice. The military justice system is set up to help commanding officers maintain good order and discipline. It can't make victims whole, it can only punish wrongdoers. He's very disappointed in the system."
"We have to proceed without the documents, evidence and witnesses that have been denied to the defense. LTC Lakin is left to speak for himself and defend himself. It's up to him whether he wants to testify in his own defense, said Puckett.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Lakin's attorney: Conviction 'certain'
Lakin's attorney: Conviction 'certain'
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It's hard to know just what Mr. Puckett means when he says "When [Lakin] received his orders he had a conscience issue, whether he'd be obeying lawful orders," followed by "He could not have known, he was given inadequate legal advice."
ReplyDeleteOn 31 March, Lakin was issued a "Developmental Counseling Form" which stated, among other things:
"On 30 March 2010, this command became aware of your intentions to refuse to follow deployment orders. Your stated reason for refusal was your belief that the election of the President of the United States is invalid because you believe he is not 'native born'. This counseling is to inform you that your deployment orders are presumed to be valid and lawful orders issued by competent military authority." ... "I encourage you to seek advice from an attorney with the US Army Trial Defense Service before embarking on a course of conduct which you may quickly regret."
It seems clear to me that LTC Lakin had sufficient notice that he was in need of legal advice, and if he did not avail himself of the opportunity he has no one to blame but himself.