Maxwell Airman writes new law accommodating military members Published Aug. 21, 2015 By By Airman 1st Class Alexa Culbert 42nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala -- A Reserve assistant staff judge advocate assigned to the 42nd Air Base Wing Legal Office wrote a law that will benefit Airmen who are stationed in Alabama but, if absent from the state, have to testify as witnesses in trials in the state. Reserve Capt. Peter Smyczek authored the Alabama Armed Services Accommodation Act, which was passed by the Alabama Legislature and signed into law by Alabama Governor Robert Bentley in early June and will be implemented on Sept. 1, 2015. The bill was sponsored by State Senator Gerald Dial, R-District 13. The Act allows service members who are not present in the state, as a result of official military duties, to testify remotely by video conference technology. The need for the bill came after several instances where service members could not attend court due to deployment or other military obligations. The Maxwell and Montgomery areas are temporary homes for thousands of Airmen and their families. Like other citizens, they come with legal obligations such as being a witness and testifying in court. When Airmen move to another base, these obligation become very difficult to fulfil, said Smyczek, who is a staff attorney for the Alabama State Attorney General's Office. "The law is designed to significantly ease that burden on Airmen and their families," he said. "Since military members do so much for their country, I thought this was a simple way to help them. Two-way video conference is easy to do and it's cheap. More than half the states in the U.S. support video conferencing in the court rooms, but Alabama is the first state to use it for military members specifically. "This new law really is a win-win for Alabama courts and for military members who want to perform their civic duty in state court," said Lt. Col. Thomas Dobbs, 42nd Air Base Wing staff judge advocate. "Alabama, once again, is a leader when it comes to supporting the military."