Today, Terry Lenamon is setting in a courtroom in the Jacksonville federal courthouse as one of the defense attorneys representing John Nettleton, who was once the Gitmo Naval Base commander and now sets accused of 10 felony counts involving lying to investigators and obstruction of justice.  Captain Nettleton is retired from active military service.

Jury selection began today, is predicted to finish up today or tomorrow, with opening statements by both the AUSA and Nettleton’s defense team sometime tomorrow afternoon.

See, “Jury selection begins in trial of Jacksonville Navy captain accused of obstructing death investigation,” published by FirstCoastNews on January 6, 2020.

National Media Coverage for Former Guantanamo Bay Commander Nettleton

The Justice Department filed its case against Captain Nettleton last January, and the case has been followed closely in the national media due in no small part to the fact that Nettleton was the man in charge of things at the Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba.  See, e.g., “Justice Dept. charges former Guantanamo chief with obstructing death probe,”  written by Devlin Barrett and pubished by the Washington Post on January 9, 2019.

Nettleton Indictment by DOJ

The federal prosecutors must proceed with care here because this case does not involve allegations of Nettleton having a part in the death of Christopher M. Tur.

Read the complete federal indictment here.

From the indictment, the government’s case focuses solely upon allegations that Captain Nettleton when questioned after a fight with Tur, allegedly concealed evidence and fabricated facts that the DOJ posits stymied law enforcement’s ability to determine what happened to cause Tur’s death.

Lenamon at the Defense Table But This Is Not a Murder Trial

Nettleton’s defense team voiced their concerns to the judge last month that there be no suggestion whatsoever in the trial that Captain Nettleton was involved in the death of Tur.  The case is limited only to allegations that the Commander obstructed the investigation into Tur’s death some way.

It is important to remember that Terry’s client does not stand accused of murder and is far from facing the death penalty.  Instead, this matter serves to demonstrate  Terence Lenamon’s recognized skill as a defense trial lawyer (for instance, he’s on the faculty of Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyers College) and that his practice does extend past death penalty cases.