Soldier's criminal hearing closed
The Army is planning a closed Article 32 criminal hearing tomorrow for a Schofield Barracks soldier accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, also a soldier, in October.
The move by the Army to bar reporters and the public from the criminal proceedings is wrong, says a Washington, D.C., military legal expert.
Last year, an Oahu grand jury indicted Spc. Jeffery White, 21, of second-degree murder in the death of Spc. Felicia LaDuke, 22, whose body was found at Mokuleia Beach on Oct. 8. White is the father of LaDuke's son, who was 20 months old at the time of the slaying.
However, in November, city Prosecutor Peter Carlisle turned the case over to the military, which could execute White if he is convicted.
"We wanted to ensure that he would face an equally harsh sentence if he was convicted," Carlisle said then.
The Army charged White with premeditated murder, communicating threats and obstruction of justice in LaDuke's death, officials said.
But the Army didn't immediately hold an Article 32 hearing, which is similar to a preliminary hearing in civilian criminal cases, where evidence is presented to a military judge.
Yesterday, Stefanie Gardin, 25th Infantry Division spokeswoman, said the Army plans to hold the hearing behind closed doors at a Schofield Barracks courthouse.
Gardin said: "At this time, in the interests of justice and protection of the accused's rights to a fair trial, the hearing will be closed to the public."
In a telephone interview, Eugene Fidell, a Washington, D.C., attorney who specializes in military cases, said he has successfully represented both the Denver Post and Stars & Stripes when the military in the past took such action.
Fidell's law firm last year challenged the Navy's decision to bar the public and media from an entire criminal hearing held in December in Naples, Italy, where a sailor was charged with having sex with a minor and sexually harassing another person.
The Web site of Military Reporters and Editors, in a discussion of recent attempts by the military to close Article 32 hearings, says blanket closures are forbidden.
The online article adds that the Court of Appeals of the Armed Forces, the highest military court, has "ruled all Article 32 hearings must be open to the public and media unless specific, limited reasons are given beforehand. The court ruled blanket closures are forbidden. Investigating officers can close an Article 32 hearing, the court ruled, if testimony is about classified materials or from sexual assault victims."
Following the Article 32 hearing, a military judge will make a recommendation to the convening authority, which in this case is Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, commanding general of the 25th Division, whether White will face a court-martial.
White has been held in the Navy brig on Ford Island pending his trial.
Last year, the Medical Examiner's Office said LaDuke, of Warroad, Minn., died of strangulation and also had other injuries.
White allegedly has told people he killed LaDuke late on the night of Oct. 7 and then drove over her body with her car to make sure she was dead, according to court papers.
LaDuke had been seeking child support from White for their son, officials said. White is married and has another child with his wife, they said. He is required to pay child support for the son he had with LaDuke, a police affidavit said.
Witnesses told police they had heard White say on at least one occasion that he was going to kill LaDuke. They also heard him say it would be better if LaDuke would just disappear, the affidavit said.
LaDuke, a motor transport operator with the 25th Transportation Company, 524th Combat Support Battalion, returned from Iraq in March, the same month White, a truck driver with Company A, 325th Brigade Support Battalion, returned from Afghanistan, the military said.
Last November, Col. Timothy J. Pendolino, staff judge advocate for the Army's 25th Division, said: "We are confident that the facts in this case will be considered and evaluated in an impartial manner and that the results will be fair and just."
Pendolino's statement is the only thing the Army has said on the case until yesterday.