Military Urinalysis Testing Program

While military prosecutors may think a positive urinalysis proves a service member’s guilt, military juries can and do disagree. But to get to a jury’s not guilty finding, you have to be willing to fight the charges you’re facing.

Military prosecutors and law enforcement agencies like NCIS, CID, OSI, and CGIS, are not perfect. The same goes for a urinalysis test—it’s not perfect.

• A positive urinalysis test can be caused by legal substances.
• Urinalysis testing labs can make mistakes.
• False positives do happen.
• A service member’s urine sample can be defective or tainted.
• A positive urinalysis cannot say whether a service member accidentally ingested a drug or had a drug put in their drink or food.

Our firm’s military defense attorneys know how to expose weaknesses in a positive urinalysis test. Contact our office today to speak to an experienced military lawyer about defending your case.

Understanding the Permissive Inference – A Road to NOT GUILTY

To convict a military service member of wrongfully using a drug under Article 112a, UCMJ, military prosecutors must show that you “knowingly” ingested a banned substance and did so “wrongfully” (e.g., you didn’t have a prescription).

Often, the only evidence the government has to prove your guilt is a positive urinalysis. With so little evidence, prosecutors will generally argue to the military jury that it can be “inferred” that a service member knowing and wrongfully ingested the illegal substance.

A jury can accept or reject this inference—it’s “permissive.”

The permissive inference argument by the prosecution is WEAK. We could forcefully counter by arguing that a positive urinalysis does not show how the illegal drug got into your system—we just know that you didn’t put it there on purpose.

Because you’ve served your country honorably, you owe it to yourself to explore every option to a not guilty finding if you are facing a drug charge because you popped positive on a urinalysis test.

Call our office today to discuss your case.

A Military Drug Charge Conviction Can be Catastrophic

Every military service has a drug-testing program involving urinalysis. The result is that thousands of good people are adversely discharged from the armed forces every year. The potential hardship for these men and women is nothing short of tragic.

• Prosecutors will almost certainly seek a dishonorable discharge or bad conduct discharge and often times prison time if the case is at court-martial.
• If your case results in an administrative separation, an other than honorable (OTH) characterization of service is common.
• Civilian job prospects may dry up with a punitive discharge or OTH, resulting in financial suffering and sometimes homelessness.

Many service members that test positive on a urinalysis believe that all of their options are bad. This just isn’t true. Contact our office today to discuss how we can defend your case.

What Should I Do If I Tested Positive on a Urinalysis?

First, you should remain silent and request a lawyer if you are questioned by the command or military law enforcement.

Second, you should immediately contact an experienced military defense attorney that will aggressively fight for your rights and protect your interests.

What if I already spoke to my command or military law enforcement and gave them my side of the story? It is even more imperative that you speak to an experienced court martial lawyer as soon as possible.

Drug Court Martial Defense Practice Areas

• Military Drug Crimes
• Drug Distribution and Trafficking
• Drug Use & Possession
• Spice & Synthetic Drugs