Charles Gittins

Charles William Gittins[3] (born October 26, 1956) is an American lawyer, who has worked for a number of noteworthy defendants in military courts martial.[4][5][6]

Not to be confused with Charles Gittens.

Charles Gittins
Nickname(s)Charlie
Born (1956-10-26) October 26, 1956[1]
Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania
Service/branchUnited States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps Reserve[2]
Years of service1979-1992 (active duty)[2]
1992-1995 (reserve)[2]
RankLieutenant Colonel
UnitUnited States Marine Corps Judge Advocate Division[2]
Battles/warsGulf War
Other workLawyer who specializes in military cases

Gittins attended the United States Naval Academy, graduating in 1979. He then joined the Marine Corps where he served as a Radar Intercept Officer.[4]

Gittins graduated first in his class from The Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law in 1987 and was in the Judge Advocate Corps for six years, before entering civilian life.[4][7] The first civilian firm Gittins worked for was Williams & Connolly.[4] While there he defended Robert E. Stumpf, Commander of the Blue Angels, and one of the principals in the Tailhook scandal.[8] He spent three and a half years there before founding his own firm.[4]

Clients
Notable clients
Lieutenant Ilario PantanoUnited States Marine Corps who was cleared of shooting two unarmed Iraqi captives, then desecrating their bodies in order "to send a message".[9]
Specialist Charles GranerMilitary Police reservist involved in the Abu Ghraib scandal.[10]
Major Harry "Psycho" SchmidtFormer instructor from the United States Navy's TOPGUN school who bombarded a platoon of Canadians in Afghanistan, even though he had been directed to hold his fire.[11][12]
Commander Scott WaddleCaptain of the USS GREENEVILLE, during the conduct of an emergency surface maneuver, the GREENEVILLE collided with the Japanese Fishery training vessle Ehime Maru which sank in 2000 feet of water off the coast of Oahu (see Ehime Maru and USS Greeneville collision).[6][13]
Captain Christopher M. BeiringCommanded the troops at the Bagram Theater Internment Facility, which beat two Afghani captives to death with "compliance blows".[14][15]
Captain Randy W. Stone

Stone was a Marine Judge Advocate officer against whom charges were recommended for failing to formally investigate the Haditha incident where a squad of Marines methodically shot and killed two dozen nearby civilian families after a well-liked comrade was killed by a roadside bomb.[16]

See also

References
  1. Hubbell, Martindale (March 2001). Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, Volume 17. Martindale-Hubbell. ISBN 9781561604395.
  2. Rudy Socha, Carolyn Butler Darrow (March 2004). Above & Beyond: Former Marines Conquer the Civilian World. Turner Publishing Company. p. 89. ISBN 9781596520400.
  3. "Charles William Gittins Profile | Winchester, VA Lawyer | Martindale.com".
  4. Rudy Socha, Carolyn Butler Darrow (2005). "Above & Beyond: Former Marines Conquer The Civilian World". Turner Publishing Company. pp. 89–90. ISBN 978-1-59652-040-0. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
  5. Dolan, Matthew (March 10, 2004). "Increasing number of Navy officers being fired". The Virginian-Pilot. p. A1. Retrieved April 12, 2012. His most famous case involved Cmdr. Scott Waddle, commanding officer of the submarine Greeneville, which hit a Japanese training vessel in February 2001.
  6. Perry, Tony (March 5, 2001). "Court to Begin Sub Crash Inquiry". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2012. Waddle's attorney Charles Gittins, who has represented clients in several high-profile military cases, said Sunday that the collision was caused by a 'chain of mistakes' in the sub's control room that left his client unaware of the dangerous proximity of the trawler.
  7. Gross, Jane (February 22, 1998). "Brash Civilian Lawyer Battles Army in Court-Martial". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2012. He was honored by the service with an invitation to go to law school at the expense of the Government. He graduated first in his class at Catholic University in May 1987.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. McMichael, William H. (1997). The mother of all hooks: the story of the U.S. Navy's Tailhook Scandal. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 978-1-56000-293-2. Retrieved October 16, 2010.
  9. Marines advised to drop charges, The Washington Times, March 14, 2005
  10. Graner refuses to testify in other Abu Ghraib trials, The Washington Times, March 16, 2005
  11. "U.S. 'friendly fire' pilot suing air force". CBC News. July 4, 2004. Archived from the original on July 10, 2004.
  12. "Inquiry into deaths of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan under way". CBC News. January 14, 2003. Archived from the original on April 18, 2016. Retrieved April 10, 2012. Both Gittins and Beck say the responsibility for the friendly fire incident lies further up in the chain of command.
  13. Kakesako, Gregg K. (March 20, 2001). "Waddle testifies he's truly sorry: The sub commander is denied immunity but says testifying is the right thing to do". Honolulu Star Bulletin. Archived from the original on April 10, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2012. Yesterday, his attorney, Charles Gittins, said Waddle would not testify because he had not been granted testimonial immunity by Adm. Thomas Fargo, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
  14. Tim Golden (February 13, 2006). "Years After 2 Afghans Died, Abuse Case Falters". The New York Times. p. A1. Archived from the original on November 11, 2012. Retrieved April 10, 2012. In one of the prosecutors' most important tests, the Army last month abandoned its case against Capt. Christopher M. Beiring, the former military police commander at Bagram and one of the few American officers since 9/11 to face criminal charges related to the abuse of detainees by the officers' subordinates.
  15. Williams, Kristian (2006). American Methods: Torture And the Logic of Domination. South End Press. p. 76. ISBN 978-0-89608-753-8. Retrieved April 10, 2012. Ultimately, the army's Criminal Investigations Command recommended charges against 28 soldiers, implicating them in the deaths of two detainees. (One was Dilawar; the other was Mullah Habibullah, who died on December 4, 2002 after similar treatment.) As of September 2004, twelve GIs had actually been charged, including the commander of the 377th, Captain Christopher M. Beiring.
  16. McChesney, John (May 8, 2007). "Haditha Proceedings Begin with Marine Lawyer". NPR. Retrieved April 11, 2012. Stone's lawyer, Charles Gittins, says the Marines are trying to make his client a scapegoat.
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