When we last left Lisa Nowak, the one-time Navy "Golden Girl" (and former astronaut), she was departing an Orlando courtroom, after being convicted on burglary and misdemeanor assault charges stemming from her attack on a romantic rival.
Based on the sentence imposed, we'd say the civilian court let her off easy. Nowak, a Navy Captain, received only two days in jail for her crimes (with credit for time already served), one year's probation and instructions to write a letter of apology to Air Force Captain Colleen Shipman, the woman she attacked. Shipman was then dating Navy Commander Bill Oefelein, another astronaut who was previously involved with Nowak.
Now, Lisa Nowak is facing military justice. Florida Today reports that the Naval Criminal Investigative Service recently took control of evidence accumulated in the case. NCIS agents delivered that information to Admiral Bill Sizemore, the Chief of Naval Air Training who is Nowak's current commander. Admiral Sizemore will now decide what additional punishment the military will impose.
According to the Navy JAG officer handling the case, the admiral's options range from a letter of censure or reprimand, to dismissal from the service. Under that latter option, Nowak would lose her Navy career and pension, an estimated $5600 a month (based on her current rank). Sizemore could also reduce Captain Nowak in grade and force her to retire, reducing pension benefits.
A Navy spokesman said that Sizemore is "making progress towards a decision," but gave no indication when it might be made. However, we find it interesting that Captain Nowak has parted ways with her high-priced civilian attorney (Donald Lykkebak), who represented her during criminal court proceedings in Orlando. Apparently, Nowak will rely on a military attorney for representation in the military justice system.
To be fair, that sort of move is not uncommon. Only a few civilian attorneys practice in the military system, and Mr. Lykkebak may lack the required expertise. There's also the possibility that Captain Nowak may want to avoid additional legal bills as she faces the end of her Navy career, opting to rely on a "free" military attorney.
But we think there's a third option at play in the Nowak case. The one-time astronaut may believe that Admiral Sizemore will administer a lesser form of administrative punishment, meaning that Nowak leaves the Navy with a letter of reprimand (and possibly at a lower rank), but with her pension and retirement benefits intact.
It's a clear gamble, but the odds may favor Captain Nowak. We can think of several cases where senior officers received demotions and/or stiff fines, but avoided dismissal from service. In one particularly egregious incident, an Air Force Colonel, stationed at a base in Arizona, was convicted of a number of "consensual" sexual offenses in the early 1990s.
According to testimony at his courts-martial, the good Colonel was the leader of a local swinging club, participating in sex with men and women in his group while conducting several affairs on the side (and this was before Viagara). The courts-martial panel found him guilty of multiple offenses and he was sentenced to one year at Leavenworth. But his sentence did not include dismissal from service, so the Colonel emerged from jail with his pension and retirement.
Based on our reading of the tea leaves, Lisa Nowak will escape with an even lighter sentence. Look for her to slip quietly out the door later this year, as either a Captain or Commander. The Nowak case has been a public relations debacle for the Navy, and the service wants to end it, quickly and with minimum fanfare.
Showing posts with label Lisa Nowak; NASA; astronaut love triangle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lisa Nowak; NASA; astronaut love triangle. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
The Nowak Case Churns Along
It's been a while since we checked in on Navy Captain Lisa Nowak, the disgraced former astronaut accused of attacking a romantic rival at the Orlando airport in March, 2007. While the court case against Nowak is still moving forward (albeit slowly), it's still unclear when she'll go to trial on kidnapping, assault and other charges.
When we last reported on Nowak, she had hired a high-priced legal "spin doctor" to handle the media aspects of her trial. However, the public relations expert has apparently counseled Nowak to maintain a low public profile, while defense attorneys and prosecutors battle over evidence that could be used against her.
So far, it appears to be an effective strategy. Tuesday, three judges from Florida's 5th District Court of Appeals heard arguments that will determine if prosecutors can use statements Nowak made on the day of her arrest, and items seized from her BMW.
The appellate hearing was prompted a 2007 decision from Orange County Circuit Court Judge Marc Lubet, who ruled that Nowak's statements and items from her car could not be used as evidence in her trial. Without her comments--and physical evidence from the car--prosecutors will have a more difficult time in making their case against Nowak.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, the appellate judges focused most of their questions on whether detectives had the right to search Nowak's vehicle, which was parked at a motel near the airport.
The judges wanted to know whether the car would have been found without Nowak's statements.
[Prosecutor Kellie] Nielan said police had other evidence ---- including a printout from La Quinta and a hotel-shuttle schedule -- that would have led them to the vehicle even without Nowak's help. And, she added, they would have had enough probable cause to search it based on the earlier attack.
Police had already taken a knife, a mallet and a BB gun out of a duffel bag Nowak had with her. Shipman also had identified Nowak as her attacker, Nielan said.
She pointed out that Becton testified a year ago that he initially thought Nowak might have intended to kill Shipman and that he would find evidence of a crime in the car.
"If he applied for a [search] warrant, he would have gotten one," Nielan said.
Nowak's attorney, Donald Lykkebak, disagreed."It would have been sheer speculation that there was anything in the car connected to the crime," he said.
After the hearing, Mr. Lykkebak said he was pleased with the judges' questions, saying they focused on key issues in the case. He also expressed hope that the case will return to circuit court in the near future, saying that his client is anxious to get through the trial and "get on with her life."
But there's some question as to whether Nowak will ever face a jury. No one knows when the appeals court will make a ruling. If they side with the circuit court judge, then prosecutors will have less evidence to use against the former astronaut in court.
If they decide to press ahead with the case, Nowak won't go to trial until sometime in 2009, two years after her attack on Air Force Captain Colleen Shipman, the girlfriend of her former lover, ex-astronaut Bill Oefelein.
Nowak confronted Shipman at the Orlando airport after she returned from visiting Oefelein in Houston. Police say that Captain Nowak developed a detailed plan for abducting (and possibly, murdering) Shipman. Nowak and Oefelein, both members of NASA's astronaut corps, had a two-year affair before he began dating Shipman.
Fired by the space agency shortly after the scandal broke, Captain Nowak was reassigned as a staff officer at Naval Air Training Command Headquarters in Corpus Christi, Texas. As we noted last year, the new job provided a convenient, out-of-the way spot for the Navy to "park" Nowak while the civilian justice system ran its course. Any military action against Nowak would, presumably, come after her trial in Florida.
Truth be told, the Navy would prefer for the whole matter to just go away. So far, the service hasn't followed the shameful example of the U.S. Army, which allowed Colonel Scott Carlson to retire before his Pennsylvania trial, on fraud charges relating to a faked paternity test. Carlson was finally convicted last month, but as a civilian, not an active duty military officer. He's facing prison time, but so far, his pension and other retiree benefits remain intact.
If the case against Nowak continues to unravel, don't be surprised if she is also allowed to retire. Memories of the "astronaut scandal" have already begun to fade, making it easier for the Navy to let Nowak slip out the door, before (or shortly after) her day in court.
***
ADDENDUM: Despite the shame she brought to NASA, Captain Nowak still received her Space Flight Medal from the agency in June 2007, less than three months after she was fired. (N/T: NASA Watch). We wonder if the Navy will add a Meritorious Service Medal or Legion of Merit to her decorations, as Nowak exits from active duty.
When we last reported on Nowak, she had hired a high-priced legal "spin doctor" to handle the media aspects of her trial. However, the public relations expert has apparently counseled Nowak to maintain a low public profile, while defense attorneys and prosecutors battle over evidence that could be used against her.
So far, it appears to be an effective strategy. Tuesday, three judges from Florida's 5th District Court of Appeals heard arguments that will determine if prosecutors can use statements Nowak made on the day of her arrest, and items seized from her BMW.
The appellate hearing was prompted a 2007 decision from Orange County Circuit Court Judge Marc Lubet, who ruled that Nowak's statements and items from her car could not be used as evidence in her trial. Without her comments--and physical evidence from the car--prosecutors will have a more difficult time in making their case against Nowak.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, the appellate judges focused most of their questions on whether detectives had the right to search Nowak's vehicle, which was parked at a motel near the airport.
The judges wanted to know whether the car would have been found without Nowak's statements.
[Prosecutor Kellie] Nielan said police had other evidence ---- including a printout from La Quinta and a hotel-shuttle schedule -- that would have led them to the vehicle even without Nowak's help. And, she added, they would have had enough probable cause to search it based on the earlier attack.
Police had already taken a knife, a mallet and a BB gun out of a duffel bag Nowak had with her. Shipman also had identified Nowak as her attacker, Nielan said.
She pointed out that Becton testified a year ago that he initially thought Nowak might have intended to kill Shipman and that he would find evidence of a crime in the car.
"If he applied for a [search] warrant, he would have gotten one," Nielan said.
Nowak's attorney, Donald Lykkebak, disagreed."It would have been sheer speculation that there was anything in the car connected to the crime," he said.
After the hearing, Mr. Lykkebak said he was pleased with the judges' questions, saying they focused on key issues in the case. He also expressed hope that the case will return to circuit court in the near future, saying that his client is anxious to get through the trial and "get on with her life."
But there's some question as to whether Nowak will ever face a jury. No one knows when the appeals court will make a ruling. If they side with the circuit court judge, then prosecutors will have less evidence to use against the former astronaut in court.
If they decide to press ahead with the case, Nowak won't go to trial until sometime in 2009, two years after her attack on Air Force Captain Colleen Shipman, the girlfriend of her former lover, ex-astronaut Bill Oefelein.
Nowak confronted Shipman at the Orlando airport after she returned from visiting Oefelein in Houston. Police say that Captain Nowak developed a detailed plan for abducting (and possibly, murdering) Shipman. Nowak and Oefelein, both members of NASA's astronaut corps, had a two-year affair before he began dating Shipman.
Fired by the space agency shortly after the scandal broke, Captain Nowak was reassigned as a staff officer at Naval Air Training Command Headquarters in Corpus Christi, Texas. As we noted last year, the new job provided a convenient, out-of-the way spot for the Navy to "park" Nowak while the civilian justice system ran its course. Any military action against Nowak would, presumably, come after her trial in Florida.
Truth be told, the Navy would prefer for the whole matter to just go away. So far, the service hasn't followed the shameful example of the U.S. Army, which allowed Colonel Scott Carlson to retire before his Pennsylvania trial, on fraud charges relating to a faked paternity test. Carlson was finally convicted last month, but as a civilian, not an active duty military officer. He's facing prison time, but so far, his pension and other retiree benefits remain intact.
If the case against Nowak continues to unravel, don't be surprised if she is also allowed to retire. Memories of the "astronaut scandal" have already begun to fade, making it easier for the Navy to let Nowak slip out the door, before (or shortly after) her day in court.
***
ADDENDUM: Despite the shame she brought to NASA, Captain Nowak still received her Space Flight Medal from the agency in June 2007, less than three months after she was fired. (N/T: NASA Watch). We wonder if the Navy will add a Meritorious Service Medal or Legion of Merit to her decorations, as Nowak exits from active duty.
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