Military legal cases must be judged on their merits alone and not subject to unlawful command influence, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel stated in an Aug. 6 memorandum. Hagel’s remarks come in the aftermath of a case in which a military judge Hawaii stated in court records that speeches by President Obama and other military and civilian leaders made calling for harsh punishments for those guilty of sexual assault. The remarks amounted to undue command influence, the judge stated, and rendered it impossible to impose bad-conduct discharges for two military defendants charged with sexual assault. Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper, reported on the Hawaii trial in June 14 issues. "Senior military and civilian leaders in the [Defense] Department have an obligation to establish the standards of conduct expected of all military personnel," Hagel wrote. However, remarks from leaders about standards of conduct "are not made with intent to indicate in any way what should or should not occur in any case," Hagel wrote. "Each military justice case must be resolved on its own facts."
