James Branum; incompetent boob
I spent some time on the phone with one of the IVAW refugees last night and he verified some of the stories I’d heard from other places about our favorite lawyer, James Branum (more Branum background at this link). The person I talked to last night isn’t a lawyer, but he advocates for soldiers – free of charge. He’s also an actual combat veteran who left the IVAW because of the International Socialist Organization’s insurgency into IVAW.
Well, anyway, this guy took up the cause of Fort Bragg’s Echo Platoon, which TSO and I have written about before. It’s a confinement facility for deserters and various malcontents. According to my source, the place was in deplorable condition – not that it concerns me very much how they’re treated – and he decided to help the knuckleheads. With Branum as their lawyer, the Army decided they’d try the members of Echo Platoon this coming April.
When my source got involved, he was able to convince the Army leadership to give them all Chapter 10s (a dishonorable discharge in lieu of a court martial) which will probably save the tax payers a lot of money. Within minutes of the announcement of the Army’s decision, Branum put a “We won!” message on his Facebook page – as if he had a hand in the process.
The other story my source told confirmed a story I’d heard some where else – Branum is living with his clients in Killeen, Texas. Apparently he drifts from apartment to apartment and stays rent free. Now, I’m no lawyer, but it seems to me that’s kind of unethical. He even borrowed $800 from one client and when that client got tossed from his apartment for not being able to pay the rent, Branum moved to another client’s apartment in Copperas Cove, TX – down the road from Fort Hood.
Now, I don’t have much love for the malcontents Branum represents, but it seems to me that no one deserves this kind of treatment. We all know how stupid and easily manipulated privates stationed far from home can be – and Branum, like all of the other camp followers who suck soldiers dry, takes advantage of that and probably influence more misbehavior than there might be otherwise.
The good news is that the Army is on the verge of banning Branum from military bases, with very limited access. The bad news is that he’s trying to get military members on Fort Hood to protest his banning. I hope that those soldiers realize soon that Branum is using them for his own personal gain. As I said, I don’t have much sympathy for these guys, but they certainly don’t deserve James Branum.
Category: Iraq Veterans Against the War, Usual Suspects
Jonn,
We get it. Let’s hope the troops get it and don’t protest for him.
I know myself and others on this site disagree on many things, but everyone, no matter how we feel about them, deserves quality legal representation. Branum simply does not provide that level of quality. My lawyer has represented more AWOL cases than Branum and not one of his clients has seen jail time or a Bad Conduct Discharge (BCD) as a result.
Is there a phrase in our language with less meaning than “disgusting douchebag”? I’m sure there is. But even then it wouldn’t be low enough for this air sucking scumbag.
Suggestion: Someone ambush this “shyster” (and even THAT’S giving shysters a bad name – my apologies) in a dark alley late at night and break both his kneecaps & cut out his tongue (but cauterize afterwards so he doesn’t bleed out & die).
That way HE will be at their mercy, instead of the other way around.
I wouldn’t call getting someone an other than honorable discharge (chapter 10 won’t be dishonorable) a cause to proclaim “We Won!” For an advocate, that’s a good compromise with the command. But a good lawyer may be able to gain a general discharge for a simple AWOL without too much trouble. I’ve seen my lawyer connections do this quite frequently. An OTH may save the soldier from court martial, but it will still impact their future and is not a victory. I still wonder how on earth Branum can escalate an AWOL situation to the point where court martial proceedings would even take place. Most commands would just settle for separation and be done with it.
I agree Bob, my lawyer is baffled at the same thing just about everyone else is. But he also used to be an Army prosecutor, so he has some really good insight on why the Army doesn’t like this guy. All of his cases go full tilt boogie in the wrong direction, and no one in the anti-war movement sees a problem with this. But then again, they do not know the Army mindset.
I think it’s because people like Branum like to play the martyr and let people believe that the military is big, tall and evil and out to get the poor joe with a conscience. While the military is far from perfect, the truth is that the military is a big, tall beaurocracy that doesn’t have time for people like Branum or malcontents. A command would rather just kick these people out and be done with it, but if you get some nut off the street waiving that law degree around and no military experience other than basically urinating on the flag, it’s going to push these commanders to dig in. That, in my opinion, is not proper lawyering and is probably malpractice.
It’s not that they don’t understand the Army, Casey, they want more martyrs and Branum is only too happy to send soldiers to prison. Look at how pleased he is with himself in those videos. Branum must be wearing Depends in court – he’s so happy when one of his clients gets jail time.
I echo the previous comments regarding their commands’ desire to simply get these soldiers off of their books. In most cases the trial defense counsel would have gotten them as good or better deal.
The command does not need the hassle and needs to get these guys off of their books in order to get replacements for them. Their numbers may be small…unless you are in their squad and then the loss of one soldier is significant. The replacement will be untrained in unit SOPs etc… even more impetus to put them out.
I’m sure Branum has told them that they can always go to their congressman and get support to have their characterization of service changed.
His schtick has grown old and the Army should take action to protect these soldiers from this predator. Apparently the bar association has not gotten around to censuring this guy.
Chuck Luther? Now Branum’s crediting him with assisting.
This Ain’t Hell FTW!!!!
I agree with you Jonn. But he also uses activists lack knowledge of the law to really throw people off. I hate the fact that I’ve lost friends over this whole mess. But he is wrong, and it’s time to show him how he is wrong. He got fed up with me and blocked me on Facebook. Boo Hoo.
It is very easy to get a degree of seperation that won’t affect your future, as long as you play within the military system…I went in the army in 98 with lifelong asthma and was told by the recruiter to just lie about it…I did and got caught of course (dumbshit 18 year old who wanted to be in the army like his dad and grandpa and would do anything to do it) and because I worked within the system and didn’t ruffle feathers I got seperated in a good fashion, rather than them choosing to bust me for lying…I didn’t need some potshot moron who got his law degree from Southwest Oklahoma Tumbleweed State…