Failed Military Urinalysis
At Bilecki Law Group, we have fought and won failed urinalysis cases that seemed hopeless. We fly in hard-hitting attorneys anywhere in the world to fight for those who stand on the front lines of freedom.
There are two types of reactions that a service member gets when he or she is informed that they must piss in a cup while the spotter watches with a little too much glee on their face. The first is the service member who says, “Oh sh*t.” The second is the one who says, “Cool, I don’t do drugs.” The reality is that both the guilty and innocent alike can fail that test. The reality is that both the guilty and innocent alike can beat those charges with the right help. Many service members think their career is over, but we’ve won cases that others said were unwinnable. That’s because the tests can’t be relied upon with 100% certainty to have caught a guilty person over an innocent. This is a battle worth fighting as they can use that positive test to charge you with an official case of wrongful drug use under the UCMJ.
If you take the simple Article 112a case of wrongful use of a drug, you could be looking at the following max punishments:
- Amphetamine, cocaine, heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide, methamphetamine, opium, phencyclidine, secobarbital, and Schedule I, II, III controlled substances: Dishonorable Discharge, total forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 5 years confinement and reduction in rank to E-1.
- Marijuana, phenobarbital, and Schedule IV and V controlled substances: Dishonorable Discharge, total forfeiture of all pay and allowances, 2 years confinement and reduction in rank to E-1.
- When aggravating circumstances are alleged: Increase maximum confinement by 5 years.
Pleading guilty to intent without first consulting with an experienced military court martial defense attorney is equivalent to forfeiting years of your life. You can fight drug charges and you can win.
DO NOT PLEAD GUILTY WITHOUT FIRST TALKING WITH EXPERIENCED COURT MARTIAL DEFENSE COUNSEL!
The Prosecution Wants You To Think Your Case Is Hopeless
It is a discernible truth that military prosecutors want to treat military urinalysis results as the gospel and to question them is pure heresy. The reality is that we’ve cleared service members that the prosecution thought they had dead to rights. That’s because we know what prosecutors are trying to hide from you so that you take a quick plea.
The prosecution does not want you to know that a positive urinalysis test can be due to ingesting other legal substances. According to one study, opiates can be found for up to 48 hours in urine tests after ingesting certain poppy seeds. Ingesting the cotton in Benzedrex inhalers can cause a positive result for methamphetamine.
They don’t want you to know that these tests are not perfect and the results can be challenged. Mistakes can be made in the lab or the test sample itself can be flawed. The tests themselves have limitations. While it may show a positive result, it doesn’t show how that result happened. It does not, for example, prove that you knowingly ingested the illegal substance.
If that seems like dirty play to you by military prosecutors, that’s because it is. The team here at Bilecki has been extremely successful at beating military urinalysis results and other drug charges. Just take a look at some of our case results and see for yourself.
YOU CANNOT COEXIST WITH A MILITARY JUSTICE SYSTEM THAT IS TRYING TO DESTROY YOU.
Accidental Drug Ingestion Is A Common Occurrence
The reality that the military justice system is going to have to grapple with at some point is the proliferation of states where marijuana is legal. The legalization of marijuana has led to the creation of marijuana and CBD infused products of every variety. It’s gone far beyond brownies and gummies as you can get drinks that look like a White Claw only to find out it is infused with THC. Grab the wrong drink out of a cooler at a party and you’re all of a sudden sunk when you come back from leave.
Prosecutors and commands are under no obligation to believe you when you have told them that you must have accidently ingested drugs. They can still drag you in front of an administrative separation board and end your career. The key is knowing how to present the evidence and make your case. Show your remorse, but don’t assume you are going to receive mercy. Their response can be as fickle as any and if you go in unprepared, they’re going to make an example out of you.
The reality is that we have Medal of Honor recipients who acknowledged that their gallant actions took place while high on marijuana. Peter Lemon took names and kicked ass in Vietnam while en route to the Medal of Honor and he was high the entire time. A single case of a failed military urinalysis test shouldn’t be the end of your career in our book. However, you just can’t rely on every command to see it that way. It’s a game of Russian roulette without the proper preparation and strategy for how to fight back.
Bilecki has even won drug cases of a more serious nature that the prosecution thought was a lock. We’ve secured honorable discharges and Separation in Lieu of Trial (SILT) for guys who were looking at over a decade in military prison. Reach out to us and let us use our experience to help. Just know that you can fight back and you can win. Get us into the fight on your behalf.
Facing an Allegation?
Contact Bilecki Law Group
Timothy James Bilecki
Military law attorney
- tbilecki@bileckilawgroup.com
- Tampa, FL 33602
Years of Experience
Court Martial Verdicts
Service Members Represented
Miles Traveled
Your Case May Seem Hopeless. Here’s Why It’s Not
Bilecki Law Group has been fighting and winning drug cases for years, many of which involved a positive urinalysis test as evidence against our clients.
What seems like irrefutable evidence confirming your guilt can be turned into Swiss cheese in front of a judge or jury with the right strategy and technique in court.
A urinalysis test is not perfect, despite what law enforcement and the prosecution would have you believe:
- he prosecution does not want you to know that a positive urinalysis test can be due to ingesting other, legal substances. According to one study, opiates can be found for up to 48 hours in urine tests after ingesting certain poppy seeds. Ingesting the cotton in Benzedrex inhalers can cause a positive result for methamphetamine.
- The prosecution does not want you to know that these tests are not perfect. Mistakes can be made in the lab. The test sample itself can be flawed.
- Finally, the prosecution does not want you to know that these tests have limitations. While it may show a positive result, it doesn’t show how that result happened. It does not, for example, prove that you knowingly ingested the illegal substance.
Bilecki Law Group excels at showing the limits of prosecutorial evidence, and a urinalysis test is no different. If you’ve ever wondered how far you could take your military career, then fighting these charges should be your first priority. Even an NJP could reduce your rank or force you to watch as friends are promoted while you’re left behind.
The Stakes Are Higher Than You Think for a Drug Charge
The military aggressively roots out service members that use and distribute illegal substances. This zero-tolerance policy is in force regardless of whether it is low-level possession or a country-wide drug ring.
- A court-martial is not unheard of in cases involving minor drug crimes in the military. Should you have charges preferred against you at a court-martial, it is almost certain prosecutors will seek a punitive discharge along with additional measures – including jail time – to make an example out of you to other service members.
- Stings are common occurrences across military bases in the Pacific and elsewhere. If you’re caught up in a larger sting operation that also involves distributors and manufacturers, then you could face incredibly harsh sentencing, even if you had nothing to do with the distribution or manufacture or the controlled substance.
- Even small drug offenses will lead to an administrative separation. With the military’s zero tolerance policy, nearly any drug offense will lead to an administrative separation. If you are not administratively separated, the bad paper for the drug incident will be present when you’re up for promotion or trying to re-enlist.
You may have been told your best-case scenario is to plead guilty to your charges or waive your administrative separation board. We think your best case scenario is being found Not Guilty of your alleged crimes or retained in the military.
We Fight Urinalysis Tests in Court and Administrative Separations
You are not without options. A positive urinalysis does not guarantee your guilt. We know because we’ve seen this kind of evidence used against our clients in court. And it hasn’t stopped our military courts-martial attorneys from winning.
Never assume a urinalysis test is the end of the line. Fight back with Bilecki Law Group to secure your innocence and preserve your future as a member of the United States military.
FAQs About Failed Military Urinalysis Tests
Military drug tests are designed to test for opiates, cocaine, barbiturates, PCP, amphetamines, and marijuana. However, a simple sample may be tested for some drugs and not others. Remember, these tests are not 100% accurate. We’ve been to successfully argue that legally prescribed medication was the cause and not illegal drug use.
The military typically uses a drug test known as an immunoassay. It is cheap, easy to perform and gets results back fast. Unfortunately, it also means your life and military career could be in the hands of the lowest bidder. They are just not 100% reliable.
The military can easily average 60,000 or more drug tests per month. With labs processing that much volume, it’s easy to see how a mistake could be made. If the lab makes any mistake at all and we find out about it, that could be enough to throw out the case before it ever goes to trial. We have the experience necessary and we know what to look for in challenging these results.
On a side note, it’s easy to see how a mistake can be made in the lab with so many tests going on at once. If the lab makes any mistakes at all, we can find out about them. And that often is enough to throw the evidence out before it ever goes to trial.
We absolutely will fly anywhere in the world to defend our service members on the front lines. One has to understand the various civilian and military regulations at play when charged overseas. Experience matters in knowing how to fight back overseas. When military prosecutors see that you’ve flown in hard-hitting counsel from the United States to defend you they know that they now have a fight on their hands.
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- tbilecki@bileckilawgroup.com
- 813-669-3500
- Bilecki Law Group, PLLC, 601 S. Harbour Island BLVD, Suite 109 Tampa, FL 33602