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Stephen H Carpenter Jr.

It's in Our Results. Former JAG.

29 years of experience
Military Law, Criminal Law, International Law
Oregon, Washington

Client Reviews

Golshan N. May 29, 2023

When dealing with lawyers, you want to deal with someone personable, efficient and communicative - e I understand that no lawyer can guarantee a favorable outcome in any case, but one thing they can do from day one is to be professional, honest, and straightforward about their hard work on their client’s behalf. I paid Mr. Carpenter’s legal fees in full on March 13th, 2022, and did everything he asked of me for him to discover the details of my case. This case simply dealt with a wrongful denial to enlistment in the U.S. Military by an incompetent recruiter. Unfortunately, it took him more than three and a half months to file my case. For the first two months, when I inquired about my case or asked for a simple update, his usual response was “I am in court martial” or “I am outside of the country.” Although this was not my problem, I felt no progress was being made on my time-sensitive case. Throughout his discovery, whenever I have called or emailed him, the usual response was "I have nothing new.” In addition, I was never updated about the outcome of his research and discovery. At one point, I had to basically do his paralegal’s job and called a few service recruiters to see if I could get more information as to what I have on my file. On June 21st, 2022, in one of his emails, Mr. Carpenter mentioned that he or his office would file my case no later than June 30th, 2022. This did not happen. He knew what documents he needed from me, but I was not sure why he had to wait until the last minute to ask for them. He had ample time since March of 2022 to get all the documents he needed. Finally, I got a draft on July 4th, 2022, and it was done incorrectly. I had to read it over several times, and correct crucial details that were omitted. We had gone over what I needed to accomplish in the service branch I was interested in i.e., that I wanted to join as a commissioned officer but somehow, he forgot to mention this key detail. Ultimately, according to Mr. Carpenter, my case was sent to the Board of Corrections of the respective service branch on July 5th, 2022. I still do not understand why he sent an application for correction of Military records when I had not served in the United States military in the first place. This was my biggest problem with this lawyer. He either did not understand what I was pursuing, or he chose the wrong route to go about my case, either way, I was clueless and in the dark as to what was happening. After the filing, I asked for a copy of all the documents that he sent out and after several days, he e-mailed them to me. After reviewing these documents, I realized he had attached my old resume. A few weeks prior to this, I had updated my resume with him, but it appeared he did not bother to update the case with current information. Another problem was, following the filing of my case, it was delivered to the respective service branch on July 12th, 2022, they sent their response back to Mr. Carpenter dated July 26th, 2022. Mr. Carpenter did not bother to inform me until September 27th, a whole two months after the fact. This was extremely important to know promptly due to the time constraints of the appeal process. Because he got back to me so late, I missed the 30 days of appeal window. At the end, the Board of Corrections sent a response that was unfavorable (and now unappealable) as it was not related to what I was asking for. Imagine my frustration after months of lack of communication, and my wasted time and money. As a result, I am still not employed by the United States Military today. I know he has other clients to attend to, but since the moment I hired him as my attorney, I had difficulty communicating with him and anytime we talked, he had no updates for me about my case. I was expecting a better relationship with my attorney. I believe he did not do a very thorough consultation and research on my case. His ultimate resolution to my case was “we can request an age waiver” which was not in my favor from the beginning, and that did not happen, he said, “well, win some, lose some”. But I was appalled because I had not won anything. Most of the time, it appeared as if he did not check the emails from me, and we never spoke at the times he scheduled to speak with me. I strongly feel that he had no interest in helping me because nothing was done correctly and in a prompt fashion. I am extremely disappointed and saddened by the way this attorney and his office handled my case.

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Biography

PROTECTING YOUR MILITARY CAREER, YOUR ROAD TO RETIREMENT AND YOUR FAMILY'S FUTURE FINANCIAL SECURITY

Whatever your rank, worldwide location, charged offense or circumstance, your military career deserves more than just a competent legal defense. We "exclusively" defend active-duty members facing courts-martial around the world.

Stephen has published several articles on military justice, including: Federal Criminal Practice: A Military Justice Primer; A PTSD Primer: When Good Soldiers Do Bad Things; Resolving the Torture Memo Conundrum by Court-Martial; Guantanamo 101: Rejecting Cruel, Unusual and Degrading Justice; Military Commissions: Justice Guantanamo Style; Defending Gay Soldiers Who Defend America; and Blessed are the Peacemakers: Remembering Kosovo.

He previously served as an adjunct professor in trial advocacy at the University of Washington, School of Law. He has also taught effective oral advocacy techniques for the Attorney General’s Office, National Institute for Trial Advocacy, American Bar Association and Seattle Academy. In 2004, the U.S. Department of Justice certified Mr. Carpenter in criminal trial advocacy after he attended a course at the National Advocacy Center in South Carolina.

Finally, Stephen served as an Assistant Attorney General (AAG) for the State of Washington where he assisted appellate government lawyers prepare for oral and written arguments. He has likewise judged law student appellate competitions at the University of Washington, School of Law. Mr. Carpenter formerly prosecuted, over a two year period, scores of Washington State physicians, psychologists and dentists for professional malpractice. Mr. Carpenter successfully persuaded the disciplinary boards comprised of medical professionals, in each and every case he prosecuted, that discipline was warranted.

For a free consultation call (833) 446-UCMJ (x8265) or (206) 357-8434. Stationed in Europe? Call Ms. Mareike Groth directly at (0176) 2005 2265; or, if your in the St

Practice Areas

Military Law: Veteran's Benefits

Criminal Law: Criminal Appeals, Drug Crimes, Expungement, Fraud, Gun Crimes, Internet Crimes, Sex Crimes, Theft, Violent Crimes

International Law: Human Rights, Imports & Exports

Fees

Free Consultation
Credit Cards Accepted
Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
Flat Fees.

Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice

Oregon
Since 1995

Washington
Since 1996

Federal Circuit
Since 2008

Languages

German: Spoken

Professional Experience

Court Martial Defense Lawyer: Court Carpenter, PC; 2008 - Current

Senior Associate: Blankenship Law Firm; 2007 - 2008

Assistant Attorney General Prosecutor: Washington State Attorney Genneral; 2004 - 2006

Trial Counsel and Trial Defense Counsel: US Army JAG Corps; 1999 - 2004

Criminal Defense Lawyer: Carpenter Law Firm; 1995 - 1999

Education

Georgetown University Law Center: LL.M. | Pending

University of Oregon School of Law: J.D. (1995) | Law; 1992 - 1995

University of Virginia: B.A. (1990) | Foreign Affairs; 1988 - 1990

Awards

Court-martial Defense: Lawyers of Distinction; 2020

Court-martial Defense: Elite Lawyers; 2020; "Elite Lawyers" has graciously recognized me this week. This award is absolutely attributable to the fine judges and juries I have appeared before over the years. In the former regard, I would like to highlight, in part, COL (ret.) James Pohl, COL (ret.) Stephen Henley, LTC (ret.) Kwasi Hawks, Lt Col (ret.) Steve Leavey, COL (ret.) Steven Wolfe, and, of course, former Tillamook County District Court Judge Rick Roll. Each of these judges was instrumental to me as mentors from the bench. My favori