Second court-martial scheduled for Watada

SEATTLE – A second court-martial is scheduled to begin July 16 for an Army lieutenant who refused to go to Iraq with his Fort Lewis-based Stryker brigade and spoke out against the Bush administration.

The first military trial for 1st Lt. Ehren Watada ended in a mistrial after three days when the judge said he didn’t believe Watada fully understood a pretrial agreement he’d signed and that would have cut his sentence to four years.

On Friday, the Army refiled charges of missing movement and conduct unbecoming an officer – the same charges Watada, 28, had initially faced. If convicted, Watada could be sentenced to six years in prison and be dishonorably discharged.

Pretrial motions have been set for May 20-21, with the court-martial scheduled to begin the week of July 16, according to the office of Eric Seitz, Watada’s attorney based in Honolulu.

Seitz has said he will seek to have the charges dismissed as a violation of the Constitution’s protection against double jeopardy. On Wednesday, he said he would likely file motions by April.

He said he and Watada still hope to reach some sort of an agreement with the military but haven’t yet had communication with the Army, other than an e-mail listing the court dates.

“Our understanding is that they want to continue with this and we’re happy to oblige,” Seitz said.

Prosecutors would not comment on the case, Fort Lewis spokesman Joseph Piek said Wednesday. However, last week he said that double jeopardy was not a factor in the case because Watada’s first trial “had not reached a position of finality.”

“As far as I’m aware we are moving forward with the charges,” Piek said Wednesday.

Military judge Lt. Col. John Head originally scheduled a new trial for March 19 after Watada’s first court-martial abruptly ended Feb. 7. Seitz had said he likely wouldn’t be able to make that date because of conflicting court schedules.

The conduct unbecoming an officer charge against Watada accuses him in four instances of making public statements criticizing the Iraq war or President Bush.