prosecutor removed from navy seal war crimes case

'Chief Petty Officer Gallagher is entitled to a fair trial and the Navy is committed to upholding that principle,' O'Rourke said. The Navy would not say if he would remain on the team.Ĭzaplak will be replaced with another attorney from the Navy, spokesman Brian O'Rourke said. McMahon's commanders ordered him to stop participating in the case last week and he didn't appear at hearings on Thursday and Friday. Conor McMahon, assigned to the case will not be removed, Rugh said.īut it's not clear if McMahon will stay on the prosecution team. His conduct has been entirely inappropriate.'Ī Marine Corps lawyer, Capt. 'Unprecedented is too tame a description for what he did,' said Solis, who applauded the ruling.

Gary Solis, a former Marine Corps prosecutor and military judge who teaches law at Georgetown, said he's never heard of anything like this, saying Czaplak's decision to track defense attorneys' emails was 'contrary to legal ethics and common sense.' Rugh said he would rule on whether to dismiss murder and attempted murder counts against Gallagher by the end of Wednesday.

'We're still hopeful the entire case will be dismissed.' 'There's no way he should be allowed to continue on this case,' Parlatore said. Parlatore said it was a step in the right direction. Czaplak received word of the ruling during a deposition while questioning an Iraqi general, who is a witness in the case, defense lawyer Tim Parlatore said.Ĭzaplak left in the middle of the testimony being recorded on video in San Diego for use at the trial.

Prosecutor removed from navy seal war crimes case