Joseph L. Jordan: Court-Martial Attorney #
Most defense attorneys answer the question “what do you practice?” with a list. Joseph L. Jordan answers it with one word: courts-martial. For twenty years, the firm has done exactly one thing. It defends service members accused of crimes under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Not military law as a sideline to a civilian caseload. Not the occasional Article 15 between DUI hearings and divorce filings. Every case the firm has tried, every client it has represented, every courtroom Jordan has stood in has been military.
That focus is not a marketing claim. It is the organizing principle of the entire practice, and it shapes everything from how the firm reads an investigative file to which motions it files in the weeks before an Article 32 hearing. A court-martial is a federal criminal prosecution carried out inside a closed system with its own rules, its own procedures, and its own pressures. The firm exists to give a service member one thing the system itself cannot: an advocate whose only obligation is to the accused.
This profile explains who the firm is, how it works, what it has done, and why service members across all six branches retain it when their rank, their freedom, and their future are on the line.
What a Court-Martial Actually Means #
A court-martial is not an administrative inconvenience. It is a federal criminal trial. A conviction can carry confinement, a punitive discharge, total forfeiture of pay and allowances, reduction in rank, and a criminal record that follows a person out of uniform and into every civilian background check for the rest of their life. The consequences reach past the courtroom into employment, housing, firearm rights, and the ability to provide for a family.
The military justice system also moves on its own schedule. Once an investigation opens, the machinery does not pause while the accused finds their footing. Statements made to investigators before counsel arrives cannot be unmade. Evidence that could have been challenged at a preliminary hearing, and was not, is gone. Waivers signed without a full understanding of their effect are permanent. The earliest decisions in a case, often made before charges are formally preferred, frequently determine what options remain available months later at trial.
Understanding that timeline is the first thing a court-martial attorney brings to a case. The second is knowing how the system that produced the charge actually operates from the inside.
A Prosecutor Who Changed Sides #
Joseph Jordan did not learn the military justice system from a textbook. He served in it, first as an enlisted Soldier, then as a combat arms officer, and finally as an Army JAG prosecutor. He tried cases at Fort Hood, now Fort Cavazos, in Texas, and with the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea, two of the busiest and most aggressive jurisdictions in the Army. He deployed with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. He served in Germany and Korea before Fort Hood.
As a prosecutor, his job was to build cases against service members. He learned how the government selects charges, prepares its witnesses, constructs its timelines, and presents evidence to a panel of officers and senior enlisted members. He saw which arguments persuade a panel and which collapse under cross-examination. He learned where prosecutors cut corners under caseload pressure and where command influence quietly shapes a file before it ever reaches a courtroom.
That history is the engine of the defense practice. When a military prosecutor builds a case against one of Jordan’s clients, the firm is reading a blueprint it has drawn before. The same instincts that once helped convict now drive the search for the weakness in the government’s theory, the gap in the chain of custody, the witness whose story shifts under questioning. A prosecutor who switched sides does not guess at how the other side thinks. He knows.
His background also carries weight inside the courtroom in a way that is difficult to manufacture. When Jordan stands in front of a panel of senior NCOs and officers, they recognize someone who has lived the life they are living. He knows what barracks life looks like at two in the morning on a Saturday. He knows how an Article 15 gets used as leverage, how command pressure travels down a chain, and how fast a rumor hardens into a formal investigation. That credibility is not a courtroom trick. It is two decades of military life, and panels can tell the difference.
The Trial Record #
The firm’s record is concentrated where the stakes are highest. Joseph Jordan has represented more than 1,000 service members and taken 250 or more cases to verdict across every branch of the Armed Forces, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Space Force. He has tried cases at installations throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Article 120 sexual assault defense represents the single largest category of his trial practice. He has tried 181 sexual assault courts-martial, a volume most military defense attorneys will not approach across an entire career. Within that body of work:
- The vast majority of his sexual assault trials resulted in favorable outcomes for the client.
- He has tried 22 child sexual assault cases, securing 14 full acquittals and 3 dismissals before trial.
- He has tried and won more than 15 multi-victim sexual assault cases, the most complex and high-exposure prosecutions the system produces.
- He has taken two separate nine-victim sexual assault cases to verdict. Both ended in full acquittals.
One case illustrates the firm’s approach better than any statistic. In a child sexual assault prosecution, the accused failed to appear for trial. Jordan tried the case anyway. The government called its witnesses, made its arguments, and expected a conviction. He cross-examined every witness, challenged every piece of evidence, and walked out with a not guilty verdict, with no client in the room.
His cases span the full range of UCMJ offenses: sexual assault, rape, rape of a child, domestic violence, assault, drug offenses, manslaughter, murder, larceny, BAH fraud, AWOL, desertion, fraternization, conduct unbecoming, and white collar offenses. He has appeared at general and special courts-martial, administrative separation boards, boards of inquiry, Article 15 proceedings, and adverse administrative actions.
Results always depend on the specific facts of a case, and past outcomes never guarantee future results. What the record demonstrates is not a promise. It is a pattern of preparation and trial experience in exactly the kinds of cases that end careers.
Why Civilian Counsel Matters When Military Counsel Is Free #
Every service member facing court-martial is entitled to military defense counsel at no cost through the Trial Defense Service. TDS attorneys are dedicated professionals who serve honorably, and nothing about retaining civilian counsel diminishes that. But the structure they work within has real limits that a serious case exposes quickly.
TDS attorneys rotate on the military’s schedule and carry heavy caseloads. They operate inside the same institutional system that is prosecuting the case. If an assigned counsel receives PCS orders in the middle of a case, the file passes to a new attorney who inherits it and begins again, often losing months of accumulated understanding. The military structure asks its defense attorneys to fill several roles across an assignment, which can include legal assistance, administrative law, and rotations through both prosecution and defense duties.
A civilian court-martial attorney carries none of that structural weight. The commitment runs to one place: the client. That independence allows for early intervention before charges are preferred, continuity from the first investigative contact through final resolution, and focused attention that a rotating caseload cannot guarantee. Importantly, this is not a choice between military and civilian representation. A service member has the right to retain civilian counsel alongside their detailed military defense counsel. They can have both, and in a serious case, having both is often the strongest position available.
The Cases the Firm Defends #
The practice covers the full span of the UCMJ and the adverse actions that surround it.
Article 120, Sexual Assault and Rape. The largest part of the trial practice, including allegations ranging from adult sexual assault to sexual assault of a minor. These cases are volatile, often built on a single accusation, and frequently shaped by command response before facts are fully examined. The defense forces the government to prove every element rather than letting assumptions carry the case.
Article 112a, Drug Offenses. Wrongful use, possession, and distribution, including cases built on a positive urinalysis or substances obtained off base. The defense examines how a sample was collected, who handled it, whether the chain of custody holds, and whether command moved faster than the evidence justified.
Article 128 and 128b, Assault and Domestic Violence. Domestic violence allegations often trigger Military Protective Orders and administrative action before any full investigation is complete. A conviction can carry a permanent firearms prohibition under the Lautenberg Amendment, which can effectively end a career in uniform. The defense scrutinizes the narrative, the evidence, and the command decisions from the start.
Articles 118 and 119, Murder and Manslaughter. The harshest penalties in military law and the most complex legal dynamics. These are not cases for a generalist. They demand UCMJ-specific trial experience and a fact-driven strategy built before trial begins.
Article 134 and General Offenses. Conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline, and the wide range of offenses specific to military service.
Larceny and Financial Crimes. BAH fraud, government credit card misuse, and theft.
Nonjudicial Punishment and Article 15 Defense. Across the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard, including the analysis of whether to accept an Article 15 or demand trial by court-martial.
Administrative Separation Boards and Boards of Inquiry. Retention advocacy for enlisted members and officers fighting involuntary separation.
GOMOR Rebuttals, Discharge Upgrades, and Records Correction. Filing strategy, rebuttal preparation, and representation before the Discharge Review Board and the Board for Correction of Military Records.
How a Court-Martial Case Proceeds #
Most cases begin with an investigation by CID, NCIS, OSI, or CGIS. The investigative report goes to the chain of command, and the commander, advised by the local JAG office, decides how to proceed. The options range from nonjudicial punishment under Article 15, to administrative separation, to a letter of reprimand, to referral to court-martial.
If the commander chooses court-martial, charges are preferred and the service member becomes the accused. A general court-martial first goes through an Article 32 preliminary hearing, where the defense can cross-examine witnesses and challenge evidence before the convening authority decides whether to refer the case to trial. This hearing is one of the most consequential and most underused defense opportunities in the entire process.
At trial, the accused has the right to military counsel, civilian counsel, or both, and chooses between a military judge alone or a panel. The accused can confront witnesses, present evidence, and either testify or remain silent. A military panel does not require a unanimous verdict. Conviction requires three-fourths of the members to vote guilty.
The firm’s central conviction is that the outcome of a court-martial is often shaped long before trial. An attorney who intervenes early can file precision motions, secure time-sensitive discovery, challenge a premature Article 32 recommendation, and apply procedural pressure that redirects or slows command action. The defense does not begin when the paperwork is filed. It begins the moment an accusation surfaces.
The Defense Team #
While Joseph Jordan tries the cases, the firm operates as a team built specifically for military defense.
Nicholas C. DauSchmidt, Attorney at Law (Of Counsel). Based in Vicenza, Italy, DauSchmidt is a former judge advocate with more than twelve years of experience as a military attorney in uniform. He provides on-the-ground support for service members stationed across Europe, a meaningful advantage in cases that arise overseas.
Justin Scheider, Attorney at Law (Of Counsel). A general practitioner based in Little Rock, Arkansas, serving Of Counsel to the firm.
Tasha Carnahan, Senior Paralegal. A former U.S. Army paralegal with seven years of military service. She supported military attorneys advising commanders before moving to the defense side, where she now provides paralegal support for the firm’s cases.
Patti Vancil, Office Manager. The parent of service members with ten years of combined military service, Vancil understands firsthand the concerns military families carry through a legal proceeding and coordinates client communication throughout a case.
Worldwide Representation #
Military cases do not stay in one jurisdiction, and neither does the firm. Jordan has tried cases across the continental United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. With an attorney based in Italy and a practice built to travel, the firm reaches service members wherever they are stationed, including Germany, Korea, Japan, Italy, Okinawa, and posts throughout the Middle East. When a service member’s career, freedom, and future are at stake, the firm gets on a plane.
What to Do If Investigators Contact You #
If investigators contact a service member, the most important decisions happen in the first minutes. Invoke your Article 31(b) right to remain silent. Do not consent to a search. Do not make a statement to investigators, to the chain of command, or to anyone else without defense counsel present. Then contact a court-martial attorney immediately. The earliest contact with counsel often makes the difference in whether charges are filed at all and what options remain on the table.
Frequently Asked Questions #
How much does a court-martial attorney cost? Fees depend on the complexity of the case, the type of court-martial, and how far the matter proceeds. Jordan provides specific fee information during the consultation, and financing may be available.
When should I contact a court-martial lawyer? Before speaking to investigators or responding to command. Decisions made before charges are preferred can affect whether charges are filed at all. Early intervention protects rights and preserves options that disappear as the case advances.
Should I hire a civilian attorney if I already have free military counsel? A service member has the right to both. Civilian counsel adds independence, continuity, and undivided attention. Military defense counsel rotate assignments and carry multiple cases at once. In a serious case, civilian counsel provides an advocate with no competing obligation.
What is the difference between an Article 15 and a court-martial? An Article 15 is nonjudicial punishment handled by a commander without a trial, and it does not create a federal criminal conviction. A court-martial is a federal criminal trial that can result in confinement, a punitive discharge, and a permanent criminal record. In many cases a service member can refuse an Article 15 and demand trial by court-martial, but that decision carries real risk and requires careful legal analysis before it is made.
Can the firm represent service members stationed overseas? Yes. Jordan represents service members at installations worldwide, including Germany, Korea, Japan, Italy, Okinawa, and the Middle East, and the firm includes an attorney based in Italy for European cases.
What happens if my assigned military counsel transfers during my case? That is one of the structural risks of relying solely on detailed military counsel. When a TDS attorney receives PCS orders mid-case, the file passes to a new attorney who starts over. Retained civilian counsel provides continuity from the first investigative contact through final resolution.
A Defense Team Ready to Fight for You #
A court-martial puts everything a service member has built at risk, and the system does not slow down to let them catch up. The firm’s answer to that pressure is twenty years of exclusive military defense, a prosecutor’s understanding of how the government builds its cases, and a trial record concentrated in the most serious charges the UCMJ produces.
Consultations are free, confidential, and carry no obligation. Representation is available by phone or video for service members anywhere in the world, and financing may be available.
Call or text 24/7: (888) 528-6068
General information only. Nothing here is legal advice for any individual case or situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. No attorney-client relationship exists until a written agreement is signed. Past results do not guarantee similar outcomes. Attorney advertising.
Joseph L. Jordan is licensed in Arkansas and admitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. Credentials: University of Arkansas at Little Rock, J.D.; Pittsburg State University, B.S. in Justice Studies; former Army JAG officer; Army prosecutor at Fort Hood, Texas, and the 2nd Infantry Division, South Korea.
Crisp & Associates Military Law: Court-Martial Lawyer #
Where some military defense practices are built around a single attorney, Crisp and Associates Military Law is built around a bench. The firm brings together more than 100 years of combined military law experience in a team that pairs former military attorneys with veteran law enforcement officers. That uncommon mix is the firm’s central claim: a service member facing court-martial is not relying on one person’s experience but on a group whose backgrounds cover both how cases are investigated and how they are tried.
Veteran owned and operated, the firm represents service members worldwide and travels to any military installation, at home or abroad. Its attorneys have served at every level of the chain of command, from a platoon, ship, or squadron to the Office of the Secretary of Defense. They have handled the full range of military law matters, from routine nonjudicial punishment to court-martial proceedings that reached the front pages of newspapers and magazines around the world.
This profile explains who the firm is, the experience behind it, the cases it handles, and how it approaches the court-martial process for service members across every branch.
Why Speed Matters in a Court-Martial #
When a service member is investigated or charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the process moves quickly, and it does not wait for the accused to prepare. Army CID, Navy and Marine Corps NCIS, Air Force OSI, and Coast Guard CGIS know the rules and procedures that govern a case better than most service members ever will. The rules that protect a service member’s rights also dictate when those rights can be exercised, and missing that window can close options permanently.
The consequences of inaction are concrete. A criminal violation of the UCMJ can lead to a federal conviction, confinement in federal prison, a dishonorable discharge, the loss of military benefits, and the loss of civilian and government job opportunities. In sex-related cases, a conviction can mean lifetime registration as a sex offender. The firm’s position is straightforward: the way to protect against those outcomes is to retain experienced counsel early, before the government’s case hardens and before decisions are made that cannot be undone.
Experience on Both Sides of the System #
The firm’s attorneys have worked from inside the military justice system and from across the aisle. Several served as judge advocates, learning how the government investigates, charges, and tries cases. Others bring veteran law enforcement experience, which adds a working understanding of how evidence is gathered and how investigations are actually run. The firm describes this combination as a force multiplier, and it is the foundation of how it builds a defense: knowing both how a case is assembled and where assembly tends to break down.
That dual perspective shapes the firm’s posture toward the government. The attorneys are accustomed to traveling worldwide and taking a case to wherever the proceeding is held. The firm does not steer clients toward a quick plea as a default. It pursues the strongest available resolution for each individual situation, with decisions made on the client’s interests, and gives every case personalized attention rather than treating it as one more file.
Jonathan W. Crisp, Founder #
Jonathan Crisp founded the firm in 2007 and anchors its courtroom work. He served on active duty in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps for nearly seven years, then joined the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, where he served for fifteen more years and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in November 2021.
His military legal career covered both routine and extraordinary work. He served as a Legal Assistance Attorney and then as Chief of Legal Assistance at Patton Barracks in Heidelberg, Germany, where the office earned the Army Chief of Staff Award for Excellence in Legal Assistance for the first time in its 30-year history. He served as a Defense Counsel in Ansbach, Germany, and was then selected as Senior Defense Counsel at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, where he supervised and mentored other trial attorneys. As both Defense Counsel and Senior Defense Counsel, he was frequently requested by name by the accused service members themselves.
Two of those name-requested cases reflect the level of exposure he has handled: one involving charges of detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib, and another involving the death of a detainee during an interrogation. The JAG Corps later nominated him as the first Command Judge Advocate for a newly formed general officer command, the 20th Support Command, where he was responsible for building the legal systems that command would run on.
As a litigator, Crisp has tried more than 210 jury and panel trials to verdict and resolved many other matters short of trial. He has helped clients obtain dismissals and acquittals at both the trial and post-trial stages, and his reputation has drawn clients whose cases carried national and international exposure, including matters in Kosovo and Iraq. He began his legal career as an Assistant Public Defender in Centre County, Pennsylvania, before joining the Army JAG Corps.
Crisp is admitted to the Pennsylvania bar (1998) and to a wide range of courts, including the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, all three federal district courts of Pennsylvania, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, the Army, Air Force, and Navy-Marine Corps Courts of Criminal Appeals, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the Court of Federal Claims, and the United States Supreme Court. He earned his J.D. from Widener University School of Law in 1998.
The Defense Team #
Under Crisp, the practice has grown from a solo operation into a firm of six attorneys supported by twelve staff who serve service members across every stage of a military career. The named attorneys on the team include Jonathan W. Crisp, Donald Gordon, Adam Leydig, Jacob Gillette, and Blake Kollmann. The firm’s collective experience spans service at every level of command, which allows it to read a case the way the government does and to anticipate how command dynamics will shape a proceeding.
The Cases the Firm Handles #
The firm’s practice covers the full span of military criminal defense and the administrative actions that surround it.
Court-Martial. The most serious proceedings in military law, where the penalties are severe and the guidance of an experienced military defense attorney shapes the strategy from the first investigative contact through trial and, if needed, appeal.
Sexual Assault. Article 120 and related allegations, a category that draws intense attention from the media, Congress, and command. Commanders do not treat these accusations lightly, and the defense has to match that seriousness with thorough preparation.
Article 15 and Nonjudicial Punishment. Defense and analysis of the commander’s authority to discipline a service member without convening a court-martial, including the decision of whether to accept an Article 15 or demand trial.
Violent Crimes. Among the most aggressively prosecuted offenses, where a skilled defense can mean the difference between conviction and a far better outcome.
Murder and Homicide. Article 118 and related charges carrying the possibility of a life sentence, demanding experienced trial representation.
Drug Crimes. Built around the military’s zero-tolerance posture, where an arrest can quickly escalate into serious consequences.
Record Correction. Representation in correcting military records where an error or injustice has affected a service member’s standing.
QMP Appeals. Representing soldiers denied continued service through the Qualitative Management Program who choose to appeal and seek retention in the Army.
Security Clearance. Representation when unfavorable information surfaces during a clearance investigation and a clearance is revoked or denied.
The Full Court-Martial Process #
The firm provides representation across the entire arc of a court-martial. That begins with the Article 32 preliminary hearing, where the defense can test the government’s evidence before charges are referred to trial. It includes advising a service member on the right to select a forum, whether a military judge alone or a panel of members, and filing motions and presenting a defense at trial.
The firm’s work does not end at verdict. It handles post-trial matters, clemency, and appeals to the service Courts of Criminal Appeals, the Army Court of Criminal Appeals, the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals, and the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals, as well as the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. That post-trial and appellate capacity matters, because a court-martial outcome is not always the end of the road.
Worldwide Representation #
Crisp and Associates operates worldwide and will travel to any military installation, at home or abroad. Its attorneys routinely cross jurisdictions to reach service members wherever they are stationed, reflecting a practice that has handled cases from the United States to Kosovo and Iraq. The firm’s main office is in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
A Team on Your Side #
A military legal challenge is rarely just a legal problem. It reaches into a service member’s career, family, and future. The firm’s answer is a team that has stood where its clients now stand, has worked both inside the system and against it, and does not back down when the government moves quickly. The firm pursues the strongest available outcome for each client, on terms set by that client’s interests.
Consultations are free. The firm represents service members worldwide and can be reached by phone or through its contact form.
Call: (888) 536-8708
General information only. Nothing here is legal advice for any individual case or situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Past results do not guarantee similar outcomes. Attorney advertising.
Crisp and Associates Military Law is veteran owned and operated, with its main office at 4031 North Front Street #200, Harrisburg, PA 17110. Jonathan W. Crisp is admitted to the Pennsylvania bar and to the United States Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, and the service Courts of Criminal Appeals.