A court martial is the most serious trial-level military court. The decision the accused military member must make is whether to accept the military criminal defense attorney assigned to them or to hire a civilian military lawyer. The JAG attorney is similar to a civilian public defender in how they serve the accused service member, and may be less experienced than a civilian military lawyer. Steve Shewmaker and Robert Capovilla of the military defense law firm Shewmaker & Lewis discuss that important decision and the factors that go into it.
