The Making of a JAG Attorney

CIVITAS Magazine of the Widener University Commonwealth Law School

The Making of a JAG Attorney Where the Law and the Military Meet

The Making of a JAG Attorney Where the law and the military meet

By Julie Massing

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elissa (Carlot) Ehlers will never forget her beginnings as a judge advocate for the Marine Corps. “One of my first cases involved a Marine who was accused of sexually assaulting and murdering a female Marine at Camp Lejeune,” said Ehlers, who served as the assistant federal prosecutor in the trial. “We were seeking the death penalty as punishment, since the murder was premeditated. Coming out of law school and sitting on a case of that magnitude, I really got to see both sides of the case. The perpetrator’s family came in, and they could have been your neighbor. He was raised by such a nice family.”

The Marine was accused of knocking a female Marine unconscious while intoxicated and taking advantage of her.

After realizing his actions, he panicked and killed the victim.

“Seeing those gruesome photos and listening to the case taught me compassion for both sides and made me realize how much everyone is affected by the loss of that young woman,” she said.

“The Marine ended up getting life in Leavenworth.”

Melissa and her husband, G. Loy Ehlers, were students in the first class at Widener Law Harrisburg. They started in 1989 and finished in 1992. After graduation, they married and served 11 years in the Marine Corps together, serving as judge advocates.

“You are a lawyer, but you are a Marine first,” Melissa Ehlers said.

The Ehlers are part of Widener Law Commonwealth’s long history of graduates who have become military attorneys. Each branch of the military has their own attorneys who make a commitment to serve their country as military lawyers and uphold the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The job of a military attorney consists of advising the commander on a wide range of areas of the law and also the defense and prosecution of military law. In the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, military lawyers are known as judge advocate generals or JAGs. In the Marine Corps, military attorneys are referred to as judge advocates.

Widener Law Harrisburg alumni who have followed this path include Patrick Murphy, the former congressman and current under

secretary of the Army. When Murphy was in his third year of law school in Harrisburg, he was interviewed for an opening in the JAG Corps by Col. Paul “P.J.” Perrone Jr., a 1993 Widener Law Harrisburg alumnus who began serving as a JAG attorney in 1994.

Murphy got the job after he earned his law degree in 1999 and went on to serve as an Army judge advocate. “The JAG Corps gives you great experience—great trial experience and great legal experience in the military,” Murphy said.

As a JAG attorney, Murphy tried military cases at courtsmartial, as well as cases in the Southern District of New York as a special U.S. Attorney. He joined the faculty of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, but later when he deployed to Iraq after the attacks of September 11, 2001, he oversaw the justice system for the 1.5 million Iraqis in south central Baghdad. He prosecuted two high-level terrorists in Iraq’s top court, including one who directed attacks that led to the death of a 9-year-old girl.

Perrone, in his 22-year career with the Army, has served in 11 positions at various locations in Europe and the United States, including a recent two-year position as a staff judge advocate with the 4th Infantry Division serving in both Afghanistan and Colorado. He received his undergraduate degree from Penn State in 1989, where he also participated in ROTC. He was accepted into the Trial Admissions Program (TAP) at Widener Law Harrisburg in the summer of 1990. After successfully completing TAP, Perrone was admitted to the law school.

Honors for Alumnus Killed in Combat Widener Law Commonwealth will honor an alumnus who gave the ultimate sacrifice while serving with the Army in Iraq.

Capt. Shane Mahaffee, a 1994 alumnus, died from wounds sustained when a roadside bomb struck his vehicle in Iraq in May 2006.

He was a civil affairs officer assigned to the 489th Civil Affairs Battalion. In honor of Mahaffee’s memory, the school will establish a scholarship for excellence in his name on Veterans Day on November 11.

An attorney in Gurnee, Illinois, Mahaffee was raised in Alexandria, Virginia. He began his military career as an ROTC cadet with Southwest Missouri State University and earned his commission in 1991.

Mahaffee was voluntarily assigned to the Inactive Ready Reserve in 2000. In February 2006, Mahaffee completed a civil affairs course and deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was 36 when he died,

leaving behind a wife and two children, aged 5 and 2.

More than 5,000 people attended Mahaffee’s funeral, a testament to the many lives he touched during his service with the Army and career as an attorney. “I think the scholarship is a nice way to honor veterans and keep their memory alive,” said Jennifer Mahaffee, his widow. “It’s nice for students to know that there were other men and women who came before them.”

The scholarship in his name, established with a generous gift from Widener University Trustee Vito R. Verni and his wife Mary Louise Verni, has made an impression on Mahaffee’s family. “I was absolutely thrilled and elated when they told me about the scholarship,” said Skip Mahaffee, Shane’s father. “It’s more than 10 years after his death, and he is still making a mark on society.”

At left, G. Loy Ehlers and Melissa (Carlot) Ehlers, both graduates of the class of 1992, serving as judge advocates in the Marines in the 90s, and more recently at their son’s wedding.

Perrone is now chief of the International and Operational Law Division for the Army JAG Corps at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. His day-to-day duties include providing legal advice to the secretary of the Army, chief of staff of the Army, and the Army staff on all international and operational issues affecting military operations. He also provides legal expertise on the topics of the law of war, intelligence activities and information operations, and stability operations and rule of law.

Perrone said JAGs play a critical role in helping the military protect and defend the nation by providing advice and recommendations to commanders in all situations. The counsel provided by JAGs ensures that the military is always acting within the rule of law, the legal principal that law should govern a nation.

It is used as a standard that enables the United States to maintain legitimacy while still acting as an example to other democratic nations when there is war or a threat of war. “A JAG’s efforts aiding a commander to make decisions that support the rule of law strengthens the legitimacy of both the military and the United States,” Perrone said. “It is an important component in protecting our democracy wherever our military is serving.”

Murphy, Perrone, and the Ehlers are among about 30 Widener Law Harrisburg graduates who have served in this important legal-military mission. They will not be the last. This year, a recent Widener Law Commonwealth graduate and a third-year-law student hope to follow in their footsteps and go into the JAG Corps.

Courtney Bassani, a third-year law student who will graduate in 2017, decided that she wanted practical experience before entering

the Navy JAG program. Bassani, of Bradford, Pennsylvania, participated in a six-week internship with the Navy JAG that gave her real-life experience and provided her with insight about what life is like as a JAG. Bassani hopes to be commissioned into the Navy JAG Corps after she graduates next May. “I have always been interested in serving, so coming to law school and applying for the judge advocate program made sense for me since it will allow me to serve and practice many different areas of law,” Bassani said. “I know I want to help people, and I know I want to serve my country.”

Military Legal Assignments Worldwide After graduating from law school and completing his training as a Marine officer, Loy Ehlers, Melissa’s husband, served as the legal officer for the Marine Security Guard Battalion. His job required him to provide protection to the nation’s embassies and consulates around the world, a job that could be described as the military’s version of in-house counsel. He provided advice to the battalion commander, oversaw the command’s military justice function, and represented the unit in negotiations with government and private organizations. “I traveled the globe and conducted criminal and administrative investigations,” he said. “I was dispatched to 22 different countries on five different continents during my time with the Marine Security Guard Battalion.”

After 11 years of active duty, Loy and Melissa Ehlers opted to leave the military and set down roots. Loy left the military first to take a position as vice president and divisional general counsel at Bassett Furniture Industries. The couple later moved to North Carolina 5

and opened two Cold Stone Creamery franchises. Loy is now the legal education department head at a local college. Melissa, who oversees the couple’s government contracting business and the Cold Stone Creamery franchises, stayed in the Marine Corps reserves for several more years before ending her service in 2004.

She looks back fondly on her service. “The doors were wide open for me,” she said. “I never felt oppressed and never experienced any biases because of my gender. As a woman, I was widely and well received in the military.”

procedures of labor law. He returned to his civilian job as board counsel for the Pennsylvania Department of State in July.

In his 31 years as a JAG, he says there are cases that he will never be able to forget. “We were prosecuting a case about a child sexual assault that happened in both Germany and the United States,” he said. “The trial lasted about two weeks, and we brought in several expert witnesses. The most emotionally difficult cases are always the ones where children are the victims.”

He said these cases are hard on everybody in the courtroom, adding that he takes special care when asking questions of a witness to help them feel safe. “You can cross examine people in a way that makes their testimony helpful. You can still get the information that you need, but not attack the witness and make them feel like they are under the spotlight—make the questions conversational, and establish a line of trust with the witness to have a conversation.”

Future JAG Officers Getting trial experience and having the opportunity to practice different types of law are the top reasons why some law school graduates decide to enter the From left: Col. Paul “P.J.” Perrone, a 1993 Widener Law graduate, is chief of International and Operational Law Division for the Army JAG Corps at the JAG Corps. “JAG officers develop expertise in a wide Pentagon. Courtney Bassani is a third-year Widener Law Commonwealth range of practice areas,” said Karen Durkin, director student who wants to go into the Navy JAG Corps. of the Career Development Office at Widener Law Commonwealth. “They are given the opportunity to A Career of JAG Service practice law and experience multiple specialties from the beginning Seeking adventure and wanting to serve, Kerry Maloney, a 1993 of their careers. JAG officers are held to the highest professional alumnus, joined the Army ROTC program in 1985 while earning standards and are greatly respected.” his undergraduate degree at Shippensburg University. After Lee Molitoris, who graduated in May 2016, said his decision to graduating, he decided to attend law school to pursue corporate go into the Army JAG Corps was largely based on the urge he felt law. His interest changed after taking a criminal law class. “After to serve his country. my focus shifted to criminal law, I thought it would be a good idea Molitoris, who is from the Scranton area, knows that the role to apply for the Army JAG and get some trial experience,” he said. of a JAG will be challenging and is eager for the opportunity to Three decades later, he’s still not ready to retire. gain experience and travel the world with the Army. He hopes Maloney is a military reservist, and was recently on an active to start his active duty service in January and is anticipating the duty assignment for three years at the U.S. Army War College in opportunity to practice in many different areas of the law. “I joined because I wanted to help those who are helping us by serving our Carlisle, Pennsylvania, serving as a command judge advocate. The country,” he said. “I’m protecting those who are protecting our assignment required him to advise the college’s commandant on all aspects of administration, ethics, fiscal issues, investigations, country, and that is very humbling.” criminal issues, and legal issues pertaining to the school and

Veterans Day Events Widener Law Commonwealth will hold a Veterans Day ceremony on November 11 to honor all of those who have served. The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. in the Administration Building and will include the launch of the Captain Shane Mahaffee Scholarship for Excellence. Widener Law Commonwealth students, alumni, faculty, staff, and neighbors are invited to attend. For more information, visit commonwealthlaw.widener.edu/veterans.

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Symposium Tackles Critical Military Law Issues Nearly 100 active duty soldiers, veterans, lawyers, and law students gathered at Widener Law Commonwealth in May to discuss critical military law issues affecting soldiers and veterans. Panel participants included high-ranking military leaders, renowned military law experts, and administrators of organizations offering services to veterans.

Patrick Murphy, under secretary of the Army and a 1999 Widener Law Harrisburg graduate, gave the keynote address.

The Military, the Law, and the Constitution featured three panels: Ethics in Military Law; Constitution and the War on Terror; and Taking Care of Our Service Members and Veterans.

The keynote address was given by Patrick J. Murphy, under secretary of the U.S. Army. He is a 1999 alumnus of Widener Law Commonwealth and the first veteran from the second Iraq war to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District from 2007-2011. All panel videos and the keynote address can be viewed at commonwealthlaw.widener.edu/militaryvideos.

Kerry Maloney, at far right, a 1993 alumnus and career JAG officer, spoke on the panel Ethics and Military Law. He was joined, from left,

by Widener Law Commonwealth Professor of Law Randy Lee; Dr. Lance Betros, provost, U.S. Army War College; and James W. Houck, a retired Navy JAG officer who is interim dean of Penn State Law.

An Emphasis on Serving Veterans The launch of a veterans initiative at Widener Law Commonwealth will provide additional scholarship and curriculum opportunities for veteran students and establish the law school as one of the most veteran-friendly institutions.

While the law school currently offers financial and other benefits to veterans and activeduty soldiers seeking a law degree, the initiative intends to establish a veteran student center. “Our goal is to eventually have a designated space for veterans to go for assistance with the law school process Patrick Murphy, under secretary for the from start to finish, Army, (left), with Widener Trustee Tom including helping them Bown, a supporter of scholarships for find employment,” veterans at the law school. said Widener Law Commonwealth Dean Christian A. Johnson. “The initiative is one that is needed, and it’s a small way that we can repay the veterans who have served our country.”

Courses with a focus on military and veterans law will be developed, and more scholarship opportunities for veterans will be provided. Currently, Widener Law Commonwealth offers several scholarships for veteran students. Long-term goals of the initiative also include establishing a veterans law clinic, which will help veterans navigate legal matters.

Early support for this project has come from Widener Trustee Vito R. Verni and his wife Mary Louise Verni to establish the Captain Shane Mahaffee Scholarship for Excellence. Widener Trustee Tom Bown and his wife Bonnie Bown made a gift to establish the Gen. Carl E. Mundy Jr., USMC (Ret.), and Linda Sloan Mundy Marine Scholarship.

A board of advisors, consisting of several veteran alumni, has been created for the project. Those serving on the board include the advisory board chair, Lt. Col. Kerry Maloney ’93, former command judge advocate, U.S. Army War College, and current board counsel, Pennsylvania Department of State; Adelle Zavada ’05, Widener Law Commonwealth clinical staff and retired colonel, U.S. Air Force; Jeremiah Underhill ’06, contract analyst for Tyco Electronics Corporation; Matt Ponzar ’03, associate general counsel, Defense Human Resources Activity and former judge advocate general, U.S. Army; Dean Johnson; Widener Law Commonwealth Professor Michael Hussey, associate dean of academic affairs; and Corinna Wilson, Wilson500, Inc., project manager.

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