The Navy’s top lawyers are restructuring the service’s criminal defense and prosecution operations in response to a sharp decline in the number of courts-martial and a shift in the practice of law.
The JAG Corps leadership has separated the Naval Legal Service Offices, which provide defense and legal assistance to sailors and their families, and the Region Legal Service Offices, which prosecute courts-martial and give legal advice and support to the command, into two separate groups, each with its own deputy commander. The leadership also has created a defense counsel assistance program and a trial counsel assistance program to get support and resources directly to defense and government litigators.
