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Defence justice far cry from screen drama
By Sarah Raskow
Volume 50, No. 15, August 23, 2007 |
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When you hear the words prosecution or Defence Force Magistrate, you might see visions of the latest episode of Boston Legal or Jack Nicholson bellowing at Tom Cruise, “You can’t handle the truth”. In reality, prosecuting under the Defence Force Discipline Act is less dramatic and more measured.
The Office of the Director of Military Prosecutions (ODMP) was established in July 2003. It was created as the result of recommendations arising from several inquires into the effectiveness of the military justice system.
The role of the ODMP is to prosecute serious offences under the Defence Force Discipline Act. Such offences include:
- Defence Travel Card fraud,
- serious assaults,
- acts of indecency without consent, and
- Rental Allowance fraud.
BRIG Lynette McDade came to the unit as the first statutorily independent Director of Military Prosecutions (DMP) in July 2006. Since then the ODMP has been operating at a high tempo reviewing evidence briefs, speaking with witnesses and conducting trials before Courts Martial and Defence Force Magistrates. The office has 11 prosecutors.
FLTLT Lee Warren, a prosecutor at the ODMP, regularly contacts witnesses about appearing.
“It is important to let any witness know that we are not the court,” he said. “We do not decide whether a member is guilty. Additionally, the decision to prosecute is not taken lightly.”
When a brief of evidence is received at the ODMP it is read by BRIG McDade and then allocated to one of the prosecutors. The decision as to whether a member should be prosecuted rests with the Director — the DMP’s position as a statutory office holder ensures she is free from command influence when making the decision whether or not to prosecute.
A request to appear before a court can give rise to many questions.
CMDR Ian Campbell is a former prosecutor at ODMP.
“When speaking with witnesses I was often asked, whether the fact that they don’t even remember the incident will stop them from being called as a witness, and if they were required to attend what would this involve, and who would organise and pay for their travel,” he said.
The ODMP is a new unit and with legislation changing regularly, BRIG McDade said it was a challenge to make the aims and objectives of the office clear. |
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