April marks sexual assault awareness and prevention month and the military has focused much effort on its prevention and care for victims of sexual assault. One program lauded as an innovative approach to victim support is the U.S. Navy’s Victims’ Legal Counsel Program.
Lt. Jarrod Franks, a military lawyer with the Navy’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps, was chosen as one of the Navy’s Victims’ Legal Counsel (VLC) in Hawaii to carry-on this program. Franks provides legal services to eligible victims of sexual offenses, including assistance and advocacy in the investigative and military justice processes. The VLC Program became fully operational on Jan. 1, 2014 and now consists of 33 specially trained judge advocates in 25 fleet locations around the world.
Franks, a Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law alum, was commissioned in 2009 and reported to Naval Legal Service Office Northwest in Bremerton, Washington to serve as Legal Assistance and Defense Counsel. From August 2011 to May 2012, Franks was deployed to Bagram, Afghanistan in support of OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM as a member of Combined Joint Interagency Task Force 435 serving as a Justice Advisor to the National Terrorism Court of Afghanistan. After his tour in Afghanistan, he remained overseas obtaining orders to Yokosuka, Japan where he served as a Prosecutor and Assistant Force Judge Advocate to Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Japan. In his most recent assignment, Franks served as the Staff Judge Advocate to Naval Special Warfare Group TWO in Virginia Beach, Virginia. While assigned to the Navy’s primary special operations force, Franks deployed with SEAL Teams TWO and FOUR to East Africa.
In March of 2016, Franks was personally selected by the Judge Advocate General of the Navy to serve as a VLC.
“The Navy is committed to protecting the rights and interests of victims of sexual assault and ensuring the administration of a fair, transparent and efficient military justice system that guarantees due process for the accused and promotes good order and discipline,” said Vice Adm. James Crawford III, Judge Advocate General of the Navy.
The Navy implemented the VLC Program to offer a military attorney to represent and assist victims of sexual offenses. VLC assist victims with legal decisions; represent them in military courts; advocate on their behalf to investigators, commanders, and prosecutors; and provide other legal advice and assistance connected to the sexual offense. VLC operate independently and are not within the chain of command of the offender, the victim or prosecutors. Since the Program’s inception, Navy VLC have assisted more than 2,780 victims around the world (as of April 2017).
“Members of the armed service share the humbling privilege of wearing the cloth of our great nation and representing the ideals upon which it was founded. Aside from duty to country, we sisters and brothers in arms have a duty to protect and serve one another.” said Franks. “The provision of legal representation and counsel to victims of sexual assault could not be more consistent with those ideals. In establishing the VLC Program, the Navy is demonstrating its commitment to the ideals of equity, transparency, and fairness for everyone.”
The VLC Program helps victims understand the investigative and military justice processes, which can sometimes become overwhelming to a victim.
“It’s the bedrock of our culture to prepare and equip our people to be the best versions of themselves – to never be out of the fight and to never have to go into battle alone,” said Franks. "The circumstances in some of these cases can be horrifying, but the resiliency of some clients is awe inspiring. Their courage is all the motivation you need to fight for them. In taking on that fight, we fulfill our duty to country and ideals, and perhaps equally important, our service to one another.”
Franks is making an impact on the world as a Navy lawyer.
| Date Taken: | 04.01.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 04.18.2017 11:11 |
| Story ID: | 230685 |
| Location: | US |
| Hometown: | PHOENIX, AZ, US |
| Web Views: | 84 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Phoenix native joins innovative advocacy efforts in the U.S. Navy for victims of sexual assault, by Natalie Morehouse, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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