Charles Gittins Explained

Charles Gittins should not be confused with Charles Gittens.

Charles Gittins
Birth Date:26 October 1956[1]
Death Date:[2]
Birth Place:Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania
Nickname:Charlie
Branch:United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps Reserve[3]
Serviceyears:1979-1992 (active duty)
1992-1995 (reserve)
Rank:Lieutenant Colonel
Unit:United States Marine Corps Judge Advocate Division
Battles:Gulf War
Laterwork:Lawyer who specializes in military cases

Charles William Gittins[4] (born October 26, 1956) is an American lawyer, who has worked for a number of noteworthy defendants in military courts martial.[5] [6] [7]

Gittins attended the United States Naval Academy, graduating in 1979. He then joined the Marine Corps where he served as a Radar Intercept Officer.[5]

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.[5] [8] The first civilian firm Gittins worked for was Williams & Connolly.[5] While there he defended Robert E. Stumpf, Commander of the Blue Angels, and one of the principals in the Tailhook scandal.[9] He spent three and a half years there before founding his own firm.[5]

Clients

United States Marine Corps who was cleared of shooting two unarmed Iraqi captives, then desecrating their bodies in order "to send a message".[10]
Military Police reservist involved in the Abu Ghraib scandal.[11]
Former 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.[12] [13]
Captain 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).[14]
Commanded the troops at the Bagram Theater Internment Facility, which beat two Afghani captives to death with "compliance blows".[15] [16]
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.[17]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Hubbell, Martindale . March 2001 . Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, Volume 17 . . 9781561604395 .
  2. Web site: Obituary: Charles William Gittins . May 24, 2024 . Legacy.com . Legacy . June 27, 2024.
  3. Book: Rudy Socha, Carolyn Butler Darrow . March 2004 . Above & Beyond: Former Marines Conquer the Civilian World . . 89 . 9781596520400 .
  4. Web site: Charles William Gittins Profile Winchester, VA Lawyer Martindale.com.
  5. News: Above & Beyond: Former Marines Conquer The Civilian World. Turner Publishing Company. 978-1-59652-040-0. Rudy Socha, Carolyn Butler Darrow. 2005. 89–90. October 1, 2010.
  6. News: Increasing number of Navy officers being fired. The Virginian-Pilot. March 10, 2004. 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.. A1. Matthew. Dolan.
  7. News: Court to Begin Sub Crash Inquiry . . March 5, 2001 . 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. . Tony . Perry . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160305210622/http://articles.latimes.com/2001/mar/05/news/mn-33667 . March 5, 2016.
  8. News: Brash Civilian Lawyer Battles Army in Court-Martial . . February 22, 1998 . 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. . Jane . Gross . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20160305064510/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/22/us/brash-civilian-lawyer-battles-army-in-court-martial.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm . March 5, 2016 .
  9. Book: McMichael , William H. . 978-1-56000-293-2. The mother of all hooks: the story of the U.S. Navy's Tailhook Scandal. Transaction Publishers. 1997. October 16, 2010.
  10. http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20050513-115330-4569r.htm Marines advised to drop charges
  11. http://washingtontimes.com/national/20050315-100424-3201r.htm Graner refuses to testify in other Abu Ghraib trials
  12. News: July 4, 2004 . U.S. 'friendly fire' pilot suing air force . CBC News.
  13. News: Inquiry into deaths of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan under way . . January 14, 2003 . April 10, 2012 . Both Gittins and Beck say the responsibility for the friendly fire incident lies further up in the chain of command. . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160418042210/http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2003/01/13/friendlyfire030113.html?print . April 18, 2016.
  14. News: Waddle testifies he's truly sorry: The sub commander is denied immunity but says testifying is the right thing to do. Honolulu Star Bulletin. March 20, 2001. 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.. Gregg K.. Kakesako. https://web.archive.org/web/20160410072143/http://archives.starbulletin.com/2001/03/20/news/story1.html. 2016-04-10.
  15. News: Years After 2 Afghans Died, Abuse Case Falters . The New York Times . February 13, 2006 . 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. . A1 . Tim Golden . Tim Golden (journalist) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20121111140528/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/13/national/13bagram.html?pagewanted=all . November 11, 2012.
  16. Book: Williams , Kristian . 978-0-89608-753-8. American Methods: Torture And the Logic of Domination. South End Press. 2006. 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.. 76.
  17. News: Haditha Proceedings Begin with Marine Lawyer. NPR. May 8, 2007. April 11, 2012. Stone's lawyer, Charles Gittins, says the Marines are trying to make his client a scapegoat. . John. McChesney.

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