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Chief Justice Marshall
Award
Robinson Everett
Life Award
Outstanding
Lawyer Awards
ABA Awards
Programs
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Outstanding Lawyer
Awards
2005 Award Winners
(left to right: CPT Jerome Teresinski; CDR Michael
Edwards; CDR Jeffrey Good; Maj Steven Stewart; Maj Susan Turley; Lt Col
Derek Hirohata)
LTC Mark Tellitocci
Army Outstanding Career Armed Services Attorney - Active Duty
In his current assignment, as Deputy Chief, Defense Appellate Division,
LTC Tellitocci proved to be an absolutely invaluable asset to the
Army. When he arrived, the backlog in cases waiting to be briefed
was at the highest level in twenty years, with more than 700 cases pending
filing at the Court of Criminal Appeals. Through his judicious
management, leadership, development of an electronic brief bank, and use
of reservists, his office reduced this backlog to less than 400 cases.
CPT Jerome J. Teresinski
Army Outstanding Career Armed Services Attorney - Reserve
Captain Teresinski provides invaluable legal advice to the Office of the
Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, Detainee Affairs. He supports
development of the Central Criminal Court of Iraq and the Iraqi Special
Tribunal. From May 2004 to Jan 2005, he provided dedicated service
to the Army Operations Center Crisis Action Team, at the Army Command
Center in the Pentagon. In 2003, he was deployed with the 101st
Airborne Division (Air Assault) and was the Deputy in Charge, Mosul Office
of Judicial Operations in Iraq. He helped reconstruct the Iraqi
judiciary and legal system, ensuring that the courts observed fundamental
human rights by designing programs to eliminate corruption. He was
awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service in Iraq.
Maj Susan L. Turley
Air Force Outstanding Career Armed Services Attorney - Active Duty
Maj Susan L. Turley has been an astonishingly bright standout in two
distinct career fields who used her civilian writing training and
operational experience as the foundation for JAG excellence. At her first
assignment, she managed a 100% increase in legal assistance and the
command's busiest civilian court program. As the Area Defense Counsel
(ADC), she represented 600+ clients, was ranked as the Western Circuit's
best, and was handpicked to train the AF's newest ADCs. She revitalized
Guam's victim-witness assistance program and created a trial-advocacy
training program from scratch. Selected to earn an LL.M., she graduated
first in her class and her research paper won first place in an ABA
contest. As an acquisition attorney, she helped put the first-ever
targeting pods on A-10s and B-52s flying in Iraq. One of only eight JAGs
selected to guide the survivors of Canadian victims of Afghanistan
friendly fire through the military justice process, her performance of
this 2-year duty drew international praise. As SJA at Gunter, she's
overseen the government's first-ever direct contract with Microsoft for
$500 million+ in USAF-wide services and software, a $9 billion program to
create network-centric combat communications, and a total unit
reorganization-and still found time to serve as acting Public Affairs
director, teach at the JAG School, and lead a mentoring group for junior
troops.
Lt Col Derek K. Hirohata
Air Force Outstanding Career Armed Services Attorney - Reserve
This award adds luster to a career already replete with accolades: US
Air Force Reserve IMA Officer of the Year; Finalist Capital Hill
Fellowship; HQ US Special Operations Command Reserve Officer of the Year;
Greater Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce AF Reservist of the Year - and these
honors were earned just in the last year! Recently, Derek discharged 3
jobs: Chief, Reserve Affairs, Law Office Manager, and Deputy Staff Judge
Advocate for HQ USSOCOM. On top of that, he prepared the Office of the
Staff Judge Advocate for FOUR hurricane evacuations. As Staff Judge
Advocate for USSOCOM's inaugural exercise deployment of a JSOTF, Derek
advised the 3-star JSOTF Commander flawlessly. He served as first SJA to
the Iraq Survey Group in Baghdad as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, where
he thrived under austere conditions and enemy attacks. He drafted clauses
that appeared in the Constitution of the District of Brcko, Bosnia and
served for a time as Chair of the Brcko Law Revision Commission. He worked
tirelessly, when not the chair, on the Brcko judicial system reform and
code modification. Tasks included harmonization of laws from the Republic
of Sprska and Bosnia y Herzegovina. He is a graduate of the British
Military Jump and Italian Basic Military Jump (Paratrooper) exchange
program, as well as the U.S. Army's Special Forces Operations Course.
CDR Kenneth Brown
Navy Outstanding Career Armed Services Attorney - Active Duty
Commander Kenneth B. Brown, Staff Judge Advocate, Navy Warfare Development
Command is acknowledged as a giant in the elite Special Operations Legal
community. His advice and recommendations have been acted upon by the
highest levels of the Nation's leadership. Proof of this statement is
easily found in his authorship of the Rules of Engagement for the Global
War on Terrorism (GWOT) and his advocacy of synchronization of all efforts
- Combatant Command and Interagency -- as the appropriate role for U.S.
Special Operations Command in the Global War on Terrorism. He authored the
DOD strategy for combating terrorist financing. In the process, he
consulted with high level members of the Department of Treasury,
Department of Justice, Office of the SECDEF, Central Intelligence Agency,
State Department, and the National Security Council. He also drafted
legislation that was passed as part of the 2005 National Defense
Authorization Act. This legislation, which was the U.S. Special Operations
Commander's number one priority of all the War on Terror related
initiatives, involved over two years of effort including extensive
interagency coordination and innumerable meetings with officials from CIA,
State, OMB, and DOD. Recently promoted O-4, he stood up Trial Service
Office East, Detachment Washington, DC, while simultaneously prosecuting
high visibility cases involving the U.S. Naval Academy, Bethesda Naval
Hospital, Pentagon and other commands from a five state-region.
CDR Michael M. Edwards
Navy Outstanding Career Armed Services Attorney - Reserve
For fourteen years as a Judge Advocate on active duty, and three years
in the Naval Reserves, CDR Edwards has used his expertise in Government
ethics and information technology to provide unmatched service to his
supporting command. During an assignment in February, between client
interviews, he constructed a new Internet web site for NLSO EURSWA
Detachment Sigonella. The new site provides contacts, background
information, and forms for claims, legal assistance, and defense matters.
This will decrease inconvenience to customers and increase office
efficiency by diminishing client visits for basic information and forms.
Additionally, CDR Edwards is currently preparing a far-reaching,
web-enabled database which will enable active duty judge advocates
worldwide to tap into the expertise of their Reserve counterparts.
Attorneys will be able to search for assistance either by state or by
legal specialty. When serving as a Senior Trial Counsel in Europe, he
began the investigation into the deaths of 20 people caused when a
low-flying Marine aircraft severed the wire of a cable car in Cavalese,
Italy. He also played an active role in the Trial Service Office's efforts
to reach out to the Italian judicial community after this accident. CDR
Edwards serves his country outside the military arena as well. In 2004, he
was detailed to the Counsel for the President for four months, providing
ethics advice at the highest levels.
CDR Jeffrey C. Good
Coast Guard Outstanding Career Armed Services Attorney
Over the course of his career, Commander Good has distinguished himself as
an exceptional judge advocate and officer. One of the most experienced and
accomplished military justice practitioners the Coast Guard has ever had,
he has been lead counsel in more than 60 published cases, in virtually
every capacity, including trial counsel, trial defense counsel, appellate
defense counsel, and appellate government counsel. Based on the breadth of
his experience and leadership abilities, he has been filling an O-6 billet
as Chief of the Office of Military Justice for the past two years. As
Chief of Military Justice, he has displayed extraordinary vision and
leadership, developing a series of innovative web-based practice aids,
such as an automated pretrial agreement drafting aid, and interactive,
hyperlinked flowcharts which diagram the entire military justice process
from initial allegation to final action. He developed a nationwide
mentoring program for Coast Guard prosecutors; and also instituted a
"co-counsel" program to team up experienced counsel with newer
judge advocates in courts-martial. He is also a leader in the bar and
local communities. He serves as an officer in the JAA Chapter of the
American Inns of Court and the Pentagon Chapter of the Federal Bar
Association; as advisor to the American Bar Association Military Law
Committee and Standing Committee on Armed Forces Law; and as a volunteer
arbitrator for the Better Business Bureau.
Major Stephen R. Stewart
Marine Outstanding Career Armed Services Attorney
The fact that Major Stewart has been assigned duties as a Staff Judge
Advocate for the past six years speaks considerably of this Marine
Officer's leadership. Major Stewart has been the Deputy Staff Judge
Advocate of 3rd Marine Division. During this time, he was acting Staff
Judge Advocate for the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit for Operation
Stabilize in East Timor, chief legal advisor for the command element
during exercise Crocodile 99 in Australia, and 4th Marine Regiment chief
legal advisor during exercise Cobra Gold in Thailand and Balikatan in the
Philippines. He served the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit for two years
encompassing four Marine Expeditionary Unit-Special Operation Capable
qualification exercises and cycles and four major bi-and multi-lateral
exercises in Korea, Thailand, and Australia; as well as his current
position as U.S. Marine Corps Forces, South, Staff Judge Advocate which
has him overseeing the deployment of U.S. Marines with the U.S. Southern
Command Area of Responsibility which includes the Caribbean and Latin
America. During this time, he was the primary legal advisor for the
commander and coordinated legal efforts among and between the Canadian,
French, and Chilean military contingents. Major Stewart's leadership, and
strong professional relationship with the Staff Judge Advocate's office at
his higher headquarters at U.S. Southern Command, was critical in ensuring
the mission was conducted in accordance with international law and the
United Nations Security Council Resolution.
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