Justice Dept. drops appeal in Watada case

FORT LEWIS, Wash., May 7 (UPI) -- The U.S. Justice Department said it decided to drop its appeal of a judge's ruling that a Fort Lewis, Wash., Army officer cannot face court-martial twice.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday granted the department's request to drop its appeal of a federal judge's ruling that the second court martial of 1st Lt. Ehren Watada for his refusal to go to Iraq with his brigade would be double jeopardy and violate Watada's constitutional rights, the Seattle Times reported Thursday.

Even if the Justice Department abandons its court action, a Fort Lewis spokesman said Watada could still go before a military tribunal for two other counts of conduct unbecoming an officer.

The appeals court did not dismiss those counts that stemmed from two interviews Watada gave in 2006 in which he criticized President George W. Bush for betraying the American people's trust and said he was ashamed to wear his Army uniform because of Bush's conduct, the Times said.

"At this point the leadership at Fort Lewis is considering a full range of judicial and administrative options, which could range from court-martial to administrative actions and discharge," said Fort Lewis spokesman Joe Piek said.

Watada was assigned to a desk job at Fort Worth during the proceedings.

Watada's first court martial in February 2007 ended in a mistrial. Watada's attorneys sued in federal court to block a second proceeding.