Army Files Charges against Military Birther

[PatGund]

The US Army has filed charges against LCol. Terry Lakin, M.D. Lakin is, of course, the military "Birther" who announced he would refuse to obey any order until President Obama presented his birth certificate.

The charge sheet is here on Scibd

http://www.scribd.com/doc/30359983/LTC-LAKIN-CHARGED-Chargesheet-apf-14-chargesheet

CHARGE I, VIOLATION OF THE UCMJ. ARTICLE 87

The Specification: In that Lieutenant Colonel Terrence L. Lakin, US Army, did. at or near Arlington, Virginia. on or about 12 April 2010, through design, miss the movement of US Airways Flight Number 1123. departing from Baltimore/Washington International Airport arriving in Charlotte. North Carolina. in order to deploy for a Temporary Change of Station in support of Operation Enduring Freedom with the 32nd Calvary Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky. with which he was required in the course of duty to move

CHARGE II, VIOLATION OF THE UCMJ . ARTICLE 92

Specification 1: In that Lieutenant Colonel Terrence L. Lakin. US Army. having knowledge of a lawful order issued by Lieutenant Colonel William Judd. to report to the office of his Brigade Commander. Colonel Gordon R. Roberts. at 1345 hours. or words to that effect. an order which it was his duty to obey. did. at or near Arlington, Virginia. on or about 31 March 2010, fail to obey the same by wrongfully not reporting as directed.

Specification 2: In that Lieutenant Colonel Terrence L. Lakin. US Army. having knowledge of a lawful order issued by Colonel Gordon R. Roberts. to wit: a memorandum signed by the said Colonel Gordon R. Roberts, dated 31 March 2010, an order which it was his duty to obey. did, at or near Arlington. Virginia. on or about 31 March 2010, fail to obey the same by wrongfully not reporting as directed.

Specification 3: In that Lieutenant Colonel Terrence L. Lakin. US Army. having knowledge of a lawful order issued by Colonel Peter M. McHugh. to wit: Temporary Change of Station orders 099-17. dated 9 April 2010, issued by Colonel Peter McHugh. requiring the said Lieutenant Colonel Terrence L. Lakin to report to Fort Campbell, Kentucky not later than 1500 hours on 12 April 2010, an order which it was his duty to obey. did at or near Washington. District of Columbia. on or about 12 April 2010, fail to obey the same by wrongfully failing to report to 32nd Calvary Regiment. 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Specification 4: In that Lieutenant Colonel Terrence L. Lakin. US Army. who knew or should have known of his duties at or near Washington. District of Columbia. on or about 12 April 2010. was derelict in the performance of those duties in that he willfully failed to report to Fort Campbell, Kentucky in accordance with Temporary Change of Station orders 099-17. dated 9 April 2010, issued by Colonel Peter McHugh. in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. as it was his duty to do."

So four charges of failure to obey the orders in his immediate chain of command. And NONE of those orders came from President Obama.

Article 87 is as follows:

"887. ART. 87. MISSING MOVEMENT

Any person subject to this chapter who through neglect or design misses the movement of a ship, aircraft, or unit with which he is required in the course of duty to move shall be punished as a court-martial may direct."

Article 92 is as follows:

"892. ART. 92. FAILURE TO OBEY ORDER OR REGULATION

Any person subject to this chapter who--

(1) violates or fails to obey any lawful general order or regulation;

(2) having knowledge of any other lawful order issued by any member of the armed forces, which it is his duty to obey, fails to obey the order; or

(3) is derelict in the performance of his duties;

shall be punished as a court-martial may direct."

Based on the 2008 Manual for Court Martial, Lakin is looking at Dismissal from Service, (the officer version of a DD or BCD), between 2 to 6 years confinement, and total forfeiture of pay and benefits.

Plus the fact he may be unable to practice medicine once he's released.

Hope he thinks it's worth it.

[Sheepshank]

1. oh damn

nothing in there about birth certificates and CoC call for duty? I guess he'll have to mount a defense that actually doesn't suck.

[IndianaGreen]

2. UCMJ is quite clear when it comes to disobeying lawful orders

and a military court won't accept any arguments about Presidential birth certificates since Obama was duly elected by the Electoral College, and certified by Congress.

This is an open and shut case.

I suspect LTC Larkin will be reduced in rank and discharged, after which he will join talk radio or Faux in some capacity.

[saulmart]

63. Murdoch probably has a contract waiting!

I'll bet the putz won't mind working for that foreign-born fuck!

[The Wielding Truth]

65. How true. They trust that foreign born liar and distrust our native born Pres.

[Ian David]

3. Specification 5: In that Lieutenant Colonel Terrence L. Lakin. US Army is a fucking douchebag. n/t

[n2doc]

4. Who the F**k is unreccing this? n/t

[elocs]

5. Thanks, because had you not posted this I would never have known it was UnRecced.

Personally, I can never understand how anyone could have the nerve to UnRec any thread of mine or any thread with which I agree. How dare they!

[The Doctor.]

41. Snark does not excuse unreccing an anti-birther OP.

The best excuse someone could come up with for unreccing this is that 'it gives him publicity'.

On DU? There is no 'good publicity' for these morons. Better to show how an idiot is about to be made an example of, an dissuade others from following form than to fear that visibility on DU will somehow help this poor sap.

So... why would you unrec such a thread as this?

[newtothegame]

58. I'd unrecc it because it reminds me of our own "birther" movement regarding Trig Palin. nt

[whistler162]

10. Likely the person who complained!

[Cha]

15. Lurkers who need to be pointed out. Thanks. nt

[harmonicon]

17. fourth fucking comment down?!?!

GET A FUCKING GRIP!! This is how shit works!! When there's stuff you don't particularly want to read, do you ask in the comments "Who the fuck is rec'ing this?"

I AM SO SICK OF THIS SHIT. If you have something to add to the discussion add it, if you don't, don't fucking chime in with some bullshit observation about one of the features of the fucking message board!! "Shit, who's posting this at 5:38? This is really a 6:45 kind of a thread" - No one fucking cares!!

[proud2BlibKansan]

19. LOL

Right fucking on!!

[fascisthunter]

29. don't let it get to you

[n2doc]

32. You obviously Fucking cared n/t

[harmonicon]

39. I care about reading cogent responses to posts.

That's the way the thread system works.

[The Doctor.]

46. Then do exactly that.

Frankly, pointing out that people are unreccing a thread is cogent. It is a very legitimate point that there may be pro-birther trolls about.

Personally, I'm also curious just why someone would unrec this. Do you have an explanation?

[billh58]

54. Because they can?

I suspect that some people unrec OPs just because they can, or maybe they have a dislike for the poster. In any event, I find the outraged responses to a perfectly harmless board feature sometimes hilarious.

You do realize that the rec/unrec feature only applies to whether an OP should be promoted to the "Greatest" page or not don't you? It really has nothing to do with approval or disapproval of the OP, only its relative importance/value compared to other candidates for the Greatest page.

And, if an unrec is the best a "troll" can do, then they're not very good at their job -- are they?

[jberryhill]

60. Sure....

There are people that do not believe that every wingnut statement or attention-getting trick should be on the front page of DU.

I find birther stories interesting and amusing.

Other people have suggested that DU should be promoting its own agenda and not consist of "Holy crap! Rush Limbaugh Said Something Dumb Today", because they feel this is essentially extending the reach of Rush's microphone.

The points of view are:

1. It is important to call out right wing garbage;

2. It is important to promote a positive agenda and not re-propagate right wing garbage.

Both of these opinions are reasonable and have merit.

These people rec or unrec based on their opinion of what is a "front page story".

Are you really not capable of understanding that people can have differences of opinion about what belongs on the front page?

I don't rec or unrec very much at all, but sweet Jesus am I sick of people going on about it.

[The Doctor.]

71. It's that people make themselves arbiters of what *I* get to see or not.

That, and TGP is not 'The Front Page'. Only those topics with dozens or hundreds of recs make it there.

That someone can decide, as frequently happens, that a given topic is not worthy of even showing up on TGP is something I disagree with. It is more because of the lurking trolls than distrust of other DUer's judgment, although both are often the case.

The fact that this did make it as far up as it did also suggests that there is little breadth between the judgment of some DUer's and the will of the trolls. If a troll wants to unrec a thread, then it stands to reason that your point '2' merely plays to their agenda.


I should rather think that if a DUer didn't support an issue, that they would merely ignore it. There is plenty of space on TGP, and many issues I've learned about by the virtue of one single rec... as well as more than a few, I'm sure, that I will never know about because one or two people decided it was not worthy of anyone's notice. We could not count the number of threads that struggled through the 5 rec threshold against one or two contenders, only to go to the very top of TGP because it turned out to be important to so many.

Judging by the early unrecs on this one, that may very well have been the case.

I believe the message; "The army doesn't tolerate birthers" is a good one for EVERYONE to hear.

Do you disagree?

[billh58]

76. Would those be some

of the same people who are the "arbiters" of who wins elections in your District? By your logic, only "yes" votes should be allowed, and that anyone who doesn't agree with you should just STFU.

Your outrage against those who use the unrec feature would be better focused on the administrators of DU, who introduced it as a way to filter posts which make it to TGP, by popular vote. Calling those who use a standard DU feature to unrec a post, "trolls," is small-minded and petty.

On the other hand, thanks for providing some much needed comic relief in these troublesome times...;-)

[jberryhill]

82. So do rec's

Brush your teeth after every meal is a good message for everyone to hear too.

Newspaper editors decide what goes on the front page of the paper. It doesn't mean they don't think the rest of the paper is worthwhile.

Army Disciplines Officer Who Refuses Orders is a "Dog bites man" story.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

51. You again.

You are a real hypocrite. You are trying to get your grip into another thread by being a childish distraction once again. You are ruining so many threads with this little game. Is that your intention?

[icee]

40. Agree.

[The Doctor.]

42. Actually... I care.

Because the only sorts of people that would bother to unrec this OP are trolls... or rather thoughtless and superficial DUers.

I'm sure that if someone complained about the 'Roeder found guilt' threads being unrecced you would have said the same thing?

...Didn't think so.

[jberryhill]

61. I disagree - the Birther is doing this for attention

Some people object to giving it to him.

[The Doctor.]

72. "Hey look at me! I'm destroying my life over my stupidity!"

Yeah... what a shame his message is getting out. :eyes:

[jberryhill]

78. LOL

Some think madness is contagious

[The Doctor.]

79. Well... there's a point, I suppose.

:P

[jberryhill]

81. Here's how it works....

The Catholic church used to burn heretical works.

But we know what was in those heretical works....

Why? Because we have the writings of the church theologians against the heretics' positions.

So, regardless of whether an OP is "anti-birther", there are some that believe even presenting "anti-birther" arguments itself lends credence to the notion that there is any type of sane controversy here.

[Autonomy]

48. LOL you're so right - n/t

[dbmk]

30. People who think other stories are more important?

Just a thought..

[The Doctor.]

45. Right, because people like you are arbiters of what I should or shouldn't find on TGP.

If you're so vested in making sure the 'more important' stories rise up, then focus on them and simply ignore what you have judged unworthy.

I'm glad to have seen this today. Now, if I'm dealing with a birther, I can point out what their delusion brings them.

[billh58]

57. Assuming that

someone who doesn't believe that a story about a dickwad refusing a military order belongs on the Greatest Page is a "birther" sympathizer is quite a stretch isn't it?

Your opening rant, "people like you are arbiters of what I should or shouldn't find on TGP," seems misdirected. Skinner and the admins provided the rec/unrec feature for the specific purpose of determining which OPs make it to TGP, and which ones do not. Democracy in action by secret ballot? What a concept.

[dbmk]

62. Eeh...

First of all: I didn't rec or unrec this. I hardly ever unrec anything. Think I have done it once. Stop working on assumptions.

And secondly: Someone recommending is also arbiting what you should find on TGP.

Thirdly: I just wanted to point out that there might be other motives for unreccing than being a lurking freeper.

Fourth: Like many other posters I find the seemingly standard "WHO IS UNRECCING THIS!?!?!" posts that start a thread utterly foolish and annoying. Every thread gets unrecs - but in comparison to other threads it will get the recs it was meant to get in the end.

[Iggo]

35. Me, that's who.

Complaining about unrecs mere minutes into the process draws an auto-unrec.

Nothing personal.

[Tarc]

36. That's kinda dickish

Nothing personal.

[Autonomy]

49. Only bc it was not the OP complaining

but it's a good idea otherwise. Dickish may be the best solution to annoying complaint about unreccing. I am jumping on the bandwagon. Complaints about unrecs from the Original Poster get unrecs from me from now on.

[Iggo]

56. delete -- way too harsh

[The Doctor.]

73. That's particularly petty criteria for an unrec.

Especially when, more often than not, it is a faction of trolls trying to keep something off TGP.

This thread being a likely example.

[Iggo]

74. Aw, don't be mad.

I know it's petty, but it's oh so satisfying watching the crybabies scream, "Troll! Troll!"

[billh58]

75. I believe that

a new phobia is being born on DU: the fear of being unrec'd. Or is it the fear of those who anonymously use the voting feature that Skinner introduced as a way of democratically determining which posts make it to TGP?

In either case, it is funnier than hell to watch otherwise sane people go absolutely apeshit over something so minor as to have a post unrec'd...;-)

[WeDidIt]

6. If convicted, he's considered a felon

so add losing the right to keep and bear arms for the rest of his life in addition to losing his license to practice medicine after his 2 to 6 year stint at Leavenworth.

[Saphire]

66. How about his right to vote?

[WeDidIt]

80. That depends upon the state of residence. n/t

[activa8tr]

7. Hard to believe a man smart enough to make it through medical school is

dumb enough to be such a racist arrogant fool to throw his career away, with all that hate in his heart.

I guess even bright people who go to medical school, get certified as medical doctors, know all about the value of scientific research, facts over mythology, etc., well, I guess their hatred and race hating runs so deep, they are brainwashed, in a way.

This guy probably shouldn't be practicing medicine if he's so easily influenced by the likes of Glenn Beck and Michell Bachmann, and Orly Taites...(however one spells it).

[ehrnst]

26. The Klan has had lawyers and doctors as members. Bin Laden is an Engineer.

I heard that the highly educated that tend towards terrorism are those with very patriarchal or absolute professions - medicine and engineering.

The liberal arts - not so much. There weren't alot of artists or english majors at lynchings, from what I understand.

[happygoluckytoyou]

43. yeah.... teabaggers tend to major in dental care

[jberryhill]

8. Yo, Pat, the Social Security number is NOT redacted on page 3

That idiot Hemenway who posted it on her site redacted the SSN from page 1, but not from the header on page 3.

[PatGund]

9. Thanks!

Let the person know, will post the updated link shortly

[SpartanDem]

11. Hope he likes Kansas

[Historic NY]

20. Those wheat fields look nice from a cell.

[old mark]

12. My understanding is that he can get 2 years per charge for missing a troop movement-

you can get more time for missing it DELIBERATELY, which is specified in the charge. His career, his service in the Army, his pension and retirement benefits would be gone and he could spend years in the Officer's section at the US Military disciplinary Barrracks at Ft. Leavenworth, which is just as bad as is sounds.

He reminds me a little of Roeder, the murderer of Dr. Tiller-He seems to think he will be hailed as a hero, yet he is a tool for others and he will really take severe punishment for this.
The Army does not like it when people miss their unit's moving into a combat area, especially deliberately missing it, and especially when that person is a high ranking officer. This guy is done.

m

[caseymoz]

27. Yes, but Roedder is already complaining that prison's tough.

Martyrdom isn't what his fellow right-wingers told him it was. So now he's complaining like a child.

That's what this guy will be doing.

[old mark]

38. The Colonel is not yet there - when he gets to prison, as I have NO DOUBT

he will, he will be as bewildered as Roeder as to why people treat him like a criminal...

Not much grasp of reality in either case.

m

[Saphire]

67. He is a hero to some, but soon they will move on and he'll still be

in the pokey. And I'm o.k. with that.

[TheOther95Percent]

13. For the life of me, I can't figure out what the motivation is behind this man's actions.

It's criminal stupidity. I don't think the federal courts have appellate jurisdiction so it can't be an effort to get his claims a friendly hearing in a RW-leaning Circuit. I should know irrational behavior isn't going to make sense to the sane. Does he think he's the next Ollie North on the lecture circuit?

[rpannier]

22. He got bad advise from somewhere

I'm guessing he saw this as an opportunity to get out of the service and profit from it by getting financial support from the lunatic far-right

[caseymoz]

28. I think it's just racist psychosis.

He can't get over the fact that the Commander-in-Chief is an African-American. It has to be some trick, or rather, it has to be checked very, very carefully for this.

I tell you, some people who are in most other ways sane are driven crazy by the thought that the man in charge is the "wrong" race.

[Cha]

14. Thanks PatGund..you've been so

informative on this tragic era of ignorance in America due to the corporate bullshit fed by hateradio, fauxsn00ze, and one craven attentionmonger, orly taitz.

One has to assume that Colonel Terrence L Lakin has a loose screw and it's much better for everyone concerned that he is court martialed.

[hobbit709]

16. He be screwed.

No pension, no benefits no nothing.

[rasputin1952]

18. From the UCMJ:

Text.

“Any person subject to this chapter who through neglect or design misses the movement of a ship, aircraft, or unit with which he is required in the course of duty to move shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.”

Elements.

(1) That the accused was required in the course of duty to move with a ship, aircraft or unit;

(2) That the accused knew of the prospective movement of the ship, aircraft or unit;

(3) That the accused missed the movement of the ship, aircraft or unit; and

(4) That the accused missed the movement through design or neglect.

Explanation.

(1) Movement. “Movement” as used in Article 87 includes a move, transfer, or shift of a ship, aircraft, or unit involving a substantial distance and period of time. Whether a particular movement is substantial is a question to be determined by the court-martial considering all the circumstances. Changes which do not constitute a “movement” include practice marches of a short duration with a return to the point of departure, and minor changes in location of ships, aircraft, or units, as when a ship is shifted from one berth to another in the same shipyard or harbor or when a unit is moved from one barracks to another on the same post.

(2) Mode of movement.

(a) Unit. If a person is required in the course of duty to move with a unit, the mode of travel is not important, whether it be military or commercial, and includes travel by ship, train, aircraft, truck, bus, or walking. The word “unit” is not limited to any specific technical category such as those listed in a table of organization and equipment, but also includes units which are created before the movement with the intention that they have organizational continuity upon arrival at their destination regardless of their technical designation, and units intended to be disbanded upon arrival at their destination.

(b) Ship, aircraft. If a person is assigned as a crew member or is ordered to move as a passenger aboard a particular ship or aircraft, military or chartered, then missing the particular sailing or flight is essential to establish the offense of missing movement.

(3) Design. “Design” means on purpose, intentionally, or according to plan and requires specific intent to miss the movement.

(4) Neglect. “Neglect” means the omission to take such measures as are appropriate under the circumstances to assure presence with a ship, aircraft, or unit at the time of a scheduled movement, or doing some act without giving attention to its probable consequences in connection with the prospective movement, such as a departure from the vicinity of the prospective movement to such a distance as would make it likely that one could not return in time for the movement.

(5) Actual knowledge. In order to be guilty of the offense, the accused must have actually known of the prospective movement that was missed. Knowledge of the exact hour or even of the exact date of the scheduled movement is not required. It is sufficient if the approximate date was known by the accused as long as there is a causal connection be-tween the conduct of the accused and the missing of the scheduled movement. Knowledge may be proved by circumstantial evidence.

(6) Proof of absence. That the accused actually missed the movement may be proved by documentary evidence, as by a proper entry in a log or a morning report. This fact may also be proved by the testimony of personnel of the ship, aircraft, or unit (or by other evidence) that the movement occurred at a certain time, together with evidence that the accused was physically elsewhere at that time.

Lesser included offenses.

(1) Design.

(a) Article 87—missing movement through neglect

(b) Article 861—absence without authority

(c) Article 802—attempts

(2) Neglect. Article 863—absence without authority

Maximum punishment.

(1) Design. Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 2 years.

(2) Neglect. Bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 1 year.



His defense is weak to neon-existent, the president has, on numerous occasions through the records of the State of Hawaii been affirmed as being a citizen; he was elected to the office of the presidency and has been duly sworn in as president of the United States.

This man threw away a LOT. His career is shot, he can lose his medical license as a convicted felon, all pay and allowances are down the drain after conviction, no pension, no VA, no job, all gone, not for a "cause" that is "justifiable", but rather a flawed ideology that has become an obsession.

Hell, even if he ha a change of mind before all of this and made the movement...his name would have been dirt and he would have garnered zero respect from all who encountered him after he made such a stand...he was in the toaster, starting to smoke, even before all of this stuff came down.

[MrScorpio]

23. Looks like he's liable to get a big chicken dinner with three hots and a cot

Poor fellah

[rpannier]

21. But...but...but Obama is a citizen of the Republic of Kenya

Orly Taitz the world's greatest Lawyer-Dentist-Real Estate Agent has proven it with her birth certificate from the Republic of Kenya.

[Sky Masterson]

24. It's all about making money. And in the end this guy will! Just wait.

He will probably lose everything and maybe serve a little time, get out,co-write a anti-Obama right-wing book about it, and make 100 times the money he would have made off of his military retirement and benefits.
The guy is crazy like a fox..

[kay1864]

47. Maybe, maybe not.

Obama could be well into (or even finished with) his second term by the time this douchebag gets out of prison. At that point, the teabaggers will be worrying about 2016, not Obama's re-election.

[olegramps]

25. I don't have one ounce of sympathy for the nitwit.

However, I do wonder if he doesn't need psychiatric care. His actions are so ridiculous and defy any logic that he must be unstable. But, then again it appears that a sizable portion of Republicans share the same insanity. As a person on Social Security and Medicare, I can't fathom how seniors can be attending Tea-bagger revivals either. Perhaps its dementia or Alzheimers. I hope my kids take me home if I am that far gone and not let me make a damn fool out of myself. Many of those old farts would be eating dog food if it wasn't for their Social Security check.

[denverbill]

31. Well at least he won't have to go on that damned government run VA health care system.

Or that damned government pension.

Hope he enjoys his stay at the government run hotel!

[golfguru]

33. Hope this does not end up in Federal courts

The Media will go crazy!

[rasputin1952]

34. It will...

There will be an appeal, it will most likely go to the USSC, that was the plan all along, so a ruling would come down from them. Of course, the SC could refuse to hear the case.

The gamble is that the USSC would declare PO ineligible to president, something that is virtually impossible considering the circumstances. Although it would be interesting to hear the argument they have.

[Tarc]

37. This is within the military justice system, though

Can you appeal out of that to the "regular" courts?

[rasputin1952]

50. There is the Court of Military Appeals which reviews the charges and sentence(s)...

Then, there is a review, if warranted, by the USSC, here's an excerpt & link to the UCMJ that mandates such things:

<snip>
867. ART. 67. REVIEW BY THE COURT OF MILITARY APPEALS
(a) The Court of Military Appeals shall review the record in--
(1) all cases in which the sentence, as affirmed by a Court of Military Review, extends to death;
(2) all cases reviewed by a Court of Military Review which the Judge Advocate General orders sent to the Court of Military Appeals for review; and
(3) all cases reviewed by a Court of Military Review in which, upon petition of the accused and on good cause shown, the Court of Military Appeals has granted review.
(b) the accused may petition the Court of Military Appeals for review of a decision of a court of Military Review within 60 days from the earlier of --
(1) the date on which the accused is notified of the decision of the Court of Military Review; or
(2) the date on which a copy of the decision of the Court of Military Review, after being served on appellate counsel of record for the accused (if any), is deposited in the United States mails for delivery by first class mail to the accused at an address provided by the accused, or, if no such address has been provided by the accused, at the last address listed for the accused in his official service record. The Court of Military Appeals shall act upon such a petition promptly in accordance with the rules of the court.
(c) In any case reviewed by it, the Court of Military Appeals may act only with respect to the findings and sentence as approved by the convening authority and as affirmed or set aside as incorrect in law by the Court of Military Review. In a case which the Judge Advocate General orders sent to the Court of Military Appeals, that action need be taken only with respect to the issues raised by him. In a case reviewed upon petition of the accused, that action need be taken only with respect to issues specified in the grant of review. The Court of Military Appeals shall take action only with respect to matters of law.
(d) If the Court of Military Appeals sets aside the findings and sentence, it may, except where the setting aside is based on lack of sufficient evidence in the record to support the findings, order a rehearing. If it sets aside the findings and sentence and does not order a rehearing, it shall order that the charges be dismissed.
(e) After it has acted on a case, the Court of Military Appeals may direct the Judge Advocate General to return the record to the Court of Military Review for further review in accordance with the decision of the Court. Otherwise, unless there is to be further action by the President or the Secretary concerned, the Judge Advocate General shall instruct the convening authority to take action in accordance with that decision. If the court has ordered a rehearing, but the convening authority finds a rehearing impracticable, he may dismiss the charges.
* 867a. ART. 67a. REVIEW BY THE SUPREME COURT
(a) Decisions of the Unites States Court of Military Appeals are subject to review by the Supreme Court by writ of certiorari as provided in section 1259 of title 28. The Supreme Court may not review by a writ of certiorari under this section any action of the Court of Military Appeals in refusing to grant a petition for review.
(b) The accused may petition the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari without prepayment of fees and costs or security therefor and without filing the affidavit required by section 1915(a) of title 28.

<snip>

http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/ucmj2.htm#*SUBCHAPTER%20XII%20--%20COURT%20OF%20MILITARY%20APPEALS



The UUSC can review a sentence, but in this case, it is more probable, since the entire defense appears to rest on a Constitutional basis. The defense is that orders need not be followed by an "illegitimate" president. Personally, I think this is about as ridiculous as it gets, but the SC may have to step in to put an end to this nonsense.
It could be "iffy" if the Court would hear this, but there is a strong possibility it may. I find it inconceivable that the defense would prevail, but strange things have happened in the Court. One thing for sure, any Justice that found PO as "illegitimate" had better wear tar/feather proof undies.

[jberryhill]

59. We have one Constitution...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehren_Watada

[happygoluckytoyou]

44. IN A RELATED STORY refuses to go to prison until he can see the warden's BIRTH CERTIFICATE

oh come on.... rent a sense of humor.... that was funny

[emulatorloo]

52. Good One! n/t

[anachro1]

53. Oh BOY!

Now his only option will be to collect that government money he will so desperately need to survive.

Is not irony a wonderful thing?

[Arkana]

55. Sounds like the military's at the end of their rope on this birther shit

and is going to make an example of Col. Lakin.

[AtheistCrusader]

64. I see him as more or less a victim.

Sort of like somebody that falls for a scam. Yeah, you're dumb for falling for it, but the people to blame for this shit are at the tea parties, and all over AM radio, etc. If you're gullible enough to only listen to these far right sources, at some point, you'll take it for truth, and then...

Formal charges.

So yeah, he's dumb, but the people who really need to pay for this are hiding behind the first amendment, while they sucker people into this bullshit.

[anachro1]

69. Stupidity, but still

he's collateral damage nonetheless.

[Catshrink]

70. Those behind it probably don't believe it either - they're just trying to discredit

Obama in the eyes of the uninformed and easily manipulated. That makes it easier for the teabaggers and haters to get all riled up about the foreigner -- and it gives them a cover in a way. It's so much "nicer" to attack someone for being foreign than for being Black.

I wonder if Rachel's researchers could find something like Freedom Works lurking in the background on this birther crap.

[SKKY]

68. Just as those who refuse to deploy because they oppose the war...

...this guy should be discharged as well. I personally don't think he, or anyone else who has "issues", should be punished beyond immediate discharge because it really doesn't accomplish much in the end. If you don't want to serve, and accept the consequences, don't sign up. I mean, you know what the possibilities are. It's a simple argument.

[billh58]

77. True dat...

When you get right down to it, the only difference between Ehren Watada and Terry Lakin are the excuses they use for refusing to follow orders. One purports that the war is illegal, and the other claims that CIC is illegal.

They are, however, both guilty of refusing to obey the lawful orders of their immediate superiors -- period. I agree that they should both be discharged to oblivion.

[TheKentuckian]

83. Good. Hammer away!!!