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IOs from SOS get a look at American justice

  • Published
  • By Carl Bergquist
  • Dispatch staff writer
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. --  During a breakfast at the Maxwell Officer's Club March 9, the American judicial system was the topic, and a six-member panel familiarized international officers from Squadron Officer School with how the justice system works in the United States. 

The panel, consisting of Judge Wallace Capel, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Middle District of Alabama in Montgomery; Col. Joseph Dent, Staff Judge Advocate General; Capt. Keith Barnett, Montgomery Police Department; Aaron Luck, an attorney with a local law firm; Chief Deputy Derrick Cunningham of the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office; and Stan Robinson, a U.S. Probation Officer, gave presentations to the IOs and answered their questions, Monday. 

The annual breakfast acquaints international officers with the rule of law in the U.S. and the country's judicial system, which allows them to compare the American system with their own country's system. The event, sponsored by the International Officer School, is part of the Field Studies Program which is founded on Department of Defense policy and provides international students with a better understanding of America, Americans and American institutions. 

"International officer's who attend Air University resident professional military education programs participate in a judicial breakfast as a key component of their Field Studies Program," said Col. Michael Homan, IOS director. "The breakfast directly contributes to increasing partner capacity by providing first-hand exposure to the benefits of a society based upon the rule of law, and the challenges democracies must overcome to ensure the system is fair and effective." 

During the presentations, Colonel Dent said there were about 4,000 lawyers in the Air Force and sometimes the perception of an Air Force lawyer was inaccurate. 

"A lot of people think of us in terms of discipline, but we also help with contracts; labor and environmental law; and we have lawyers deployed for the sole purpose of advising commanders," he said. 

Captain Barnett told IO students the primary function of the Montgomery Police Department was to deal with local, state and federal laws, and that leads to interaction between the department and other authorities. 

"We deal with many different agencies and individuals such as Judge Capel and the Office of Special Investigations at Maxwell," he said. "For example, we provide paperwork from our investigation to OSI to help with their investigations, and handle criminal cases ranging from misdemeanors to capitol crimes." 

Mr. Luck briefed students on the "two sides" of American law: civil and criminal law. He explained that in criminal law, only state and federal authorities can bring charges against someone. While in civil law, anyone who feels wronged can bring charges, or a law suit, against another person. 

"With civil law, the punishment for conviction is paying money to the wronged party," he said. "With criminal law, the convicted party can be fined or sent to jail, or both, for their wrong-doing." 

Deputy Cunningham told the IO students the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office basically does the same job as the Montgomery Police Department but is responsible for covering all of Montgomery County, while MPD handles only the city of Montgomery proper. He noted county officials also serve about 20,000 legal papers each year both in and out of the city limits of Montgomery. 

"We also manage the county jail," he said. "We do have an overcrowding problem, as the jail was designed for 520 inmates, but as of today has more than 800 people incarcerated in it. That condition will soon be alleviated with the opening of the new annex to the Montgomery County Jail." 

Mr. Robinson filled the IOs in on what he does as a probation officer. He said part of his job is to run investigations during the prosecution phase of a case to determine if the person charged with a crime is a flight risk. If the person is convicted, he then runs an investigation to determine the appropriate punishment for the crime. 

He also familiarized the students with the federal district court system saying the state of Alabama is divided into the northern, middle and southern federal districts for judicial matters. He mentioned prison overcrowding is not a problem in the federal system because when new prisons are needed the federal government builds them. 

Capt. Tiza Mumbi of the Zambian air force said she was very impressed with the breakfast presentations, and they gave her a "much better" understanding of the American judicial system. 

"What sticks out in my mind is the difference between civil and criminal cases," she said. "I didn't know that was the case here because in my country it's all one system. I'm also impressed by the various police forces in this country. In Zambia we have only one police force." 

Capt. I. Delagic of Croatia said he was clear on the upper levels of the American system, but the lower levels were "interesting to him." 

"We have only one police force, basically the state police, so the American police system is unusual for me," he said. "We do have more than one court in my country, but this matter of jurisdiction in the United States is also interesting." 

Colonel Dent, who is a big supporter of the judicial breakfasts and has been involved in them for many years, said he will soon retire from the Air Force, and this was his last judicial breakfast. 

"This one was great," he said. "These are students at the SOS level, and some of their questions were really neat." 

In honor of his retirement and in appreciation for his help over the years, Colonel Homan presented Colonel Dent with an IOS coin at the end of the breakfast. 

Judge Capel, who said this was his second judicial breakfasts, felt the breakfasts were good for both the students and those on the panel. 

"This is often the first opportunity for the students to get an idea of how our judicial system works," he said. "I was recently in Panama, and was fascinated by how different their judicial system is from ours. I really hope the students get the differences." 

The judge said he grew up in the military and enjoyed being exposed to other cultures, so that made the breakfast with the international officers all the more enjoyable. 

Questions for the panel covered a variety of subjects to include the death penalty in the U.S.; the American crime rate; the Guantanamo Bay detention facility; why it is good to have both state and federal courts; and the competency of legal counseling. The Field Studies Program touches on areas such as human rights; the laws of war; international peace and security; U.S. government institutions; the media; and the free market system in educating international officers about the United States. Through trips and site visits, the FSP provides IOs with the opportunity to experience these subjects first-hand.