Law Firm of James M. Branum

COVID-19 POLICY UPDATED: September 1, 2021 Important notice: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic (and my own personal health issues which make me part of the vulnerable population), I am doing the following safety measures: 1. I will not do in-person indoor appointments with unvaccinated people, and will require masking when doing in-person indoor appointments.... 2. I will not be accepting new cases (which might require in-person meetings or court appearances) of prospective clients who are not fully vaccinated as of December 1, 2021, with the exception of those people who have bona fide and verifiable medical reasons for not being vaccinated. 3. I am fully vaccinated against covid and will be getting the booster as soon as I am able to do so. 4. I love teaching CLE (continuing legal education) seminars. If you are part of a legal organization, local bar, etc, who is looking for tech-knowledgeable CLE presenter (who is well versed in using zoom), please be in touch. I have presentations ready to go on the following topics: * Introduction to Military Law * Defenses, Extenuation, Mitigation and aggravation in US Army AWOL/Desertion cases. * Military Free Speech Rights

I'm expecting in the very near future that the DOD will issue an order that all members of the military receive the COVID vaccine. It is my strong opinion that the DOD is doing the right thing, so I need to state for the record that I will NOT be accepting cases from servicemembers who wish to challenge COVID vaccination orders. If you or someone you know is planning to refuse vaccination under these circumstances, you should of course consult with legal counsel. You have sev...eral options including using free military defense JAG (these are called "TDS"-Trial Defense Services in the Army, "ADC"-Area Defense Counsel in the USAF, Defense Services in the Navy, etc.) or you can find a civilian attorney to take on your case. My ethical boundaries will not let me assist someone doing something that is harmful and dangerous to themselves and others. Please do not waste my time and yours by calling.

UPDATE: I am still at capacity and am not taking new cases for the next few months. The only exceptions are: 1. Free speech/dissent/conscientious objector cases,... 2. Soldiers from the US Army (active duty, reserves and guard) who are AWOL from either basic training or AIT and who want extra support for a return to military control at the Fort Sill PCF (personnel control facility). If you or someone you know is looking for a civilian attorney for a military law matter besides the above two categories, I would encourage you to consider doing the following: (1) Contact Kathy Gilberd at the Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild at 405-619-463-2369 or at help(at)militarylawhelp.com. Kathy can give you a referral to one or more attorneys who might be able to help you. (2) Contact the GI Rights Network at 1-877-447-4487. These folks are not attorneys but they can help servicemembers in many ways, including with attorney referrals.

I am currently at capacity right now and am not taking new cases (with the exception of emergency cases involving free speech, protest rights and war resistance) through July 10. If you or someone you know is looking for a civilian attorney for a military law matter, I would encourage you to consider doing the following: (1) Contact Kathy Gilberd at the Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild at 405-619-463-2369 or at help(at)militarylawhelp.com. Kathy can give ...you a referral to one or more attorneys who might be able to help you. (2) If the need isn't urgent, you can contact me via email ([email protected]) I'll schedule you for an appointment after July 10. Thanks, James

Due to the timely and critical nature of this article, which was included in the Summer 2021 issue of On Watch, we are bypassing our usual 30-day hold for non-s...ubscribers and publishing it immediately. Subscribe to On Watch, or join MLTF, to always be the first to get all On Watch content. .By Edward Hasbrouck See more

Very happy to see the The Denver Post editorialize in support of my client's lawsuit against unconstitutionally vague regulations that if enforced would block the free speech rights of members of the military when they are living their private lives (when off-duty, out-of-uniform, off-post, and in the USA). I strongly believe that all voices should be heard when it comes to the big issues of our day, and "all voices" includes members of the military. This is why this lawsuit is so important. It's not just about one national guard captain, its about the private who wants to attend a protest for black lives matters, and about the sergeant who wants to write a letter to the editor of her hometown newspaper, and about the Airman who wants to participated in a gay pride march. #MilitaryFreeSpeech #MilitaryLaw #CPTAlanKennedy

https://www.9news.com//73-fa3f6681-01ce-4f83-a81f-89c837c9 Mostly positive local Denver news coverage on the case of CPT Alan Kennedy. FYI --- I'm one of the ...attorneys representing him on his lawsuit in the US District Court of Colorado. We are seeking to challenge the provision of DODI 1325.06 (Department of Defense instruction) that forbids servicemembers from participating in protests where "violence is likely to occur," which is to be frank, unconstitutionally vague and would serve to stop servicemembers (when they are off-duty, off-post, and out-of-uniform) from being able to exercise their constitutional rights. See more

https://coloradonewsline.com//captain-sues-colorado-natio/ There will be more news coming out about this case in the coming days, but I am proud to announce that I am part of CPT Kennedy's legal team for this law suit against the Colorado Army National Guard's leadership.

Just a reminder to any members of the U.S. Space Force... that if you are facing a court-martial, administrative board or other matter, that you DO have the right to hire civilian legal counsel (and that you legally can simultaneously keep your appointed military counsel in most cases). I have not yet done a case from this branch, but I have worked with servicemembers from the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, and am looking forward to learning the details ...(including both the regulations but also culture) of the new Space Force. Call or text me at 405-494-0562 or email me at [email protected] to make an appointment for your first phone/zoom consultation. The first call (up to 30 minutes) is free and my rates are on a very affordable sliding scale past there. #spaceforce #spaceforcelaw #militarylaw

https://nlgmltf.org//cle-training-the-limits-of-the-illeg/ We are now sharing our latest CLE training, an on-demand presentation on the possibilities but also... the limits of the "illegal orders" defense in the context of potential Trump administration deployment/activation of troops in the context of the 2020 election, as well as some of the alternatives to this defense that might be used by servicemembers who are concerned about the legality and/or morality of such missions. The speaker is James Matthew Branum, a civilian attorney in Oklahoma who has worked primarily in the area of military law since 2006. This training is in audio format and is FREE for anyone to listen to, but for attorneys who seeking CLE credit we are asking for a sliding scale payment of $50-100. (please share widely)

Two of my military clients got their dd-214's (discharge papers) today after a good bit of struggle with the powers that be, complicated of course by the covid pandemic. I am very proud of my clients for seeing this through in getting good discharges but I'm also thankful for the long network of support that helped these clients to get a good outcome before I got involved, which included the GI Rights Network, and the Civilian Medical Resources Network ( https://civilianmedi...calresources.net/). I also have to thank Courage To Resist for their legal defense fund that provided the means for me to be able to take on these cases. if you are reading this and wondering how you can help other troops who are seeking a discharge and/or seeking to have unfair treatment be redressed the three organizations I mentioned above are great ones to support. all three of them have very limited funding but do a tremendous amount of work much of it behind the scenes and out of the public eye but still very, very important.

http://jmbranum.com//changes-in-my-law-practice-due-to-th/