The court-martial date for a 3rd Infantry Division soldier charged with murdering two other soldiers while they were deployed to Iraq last year was moved to a later date during a hearing on Fort Stewart on Tuesday.
The court-martial for Sgt. Joseph Bozicevich is now scheduled to begin June 7, 2010. Attorneys for both the government and the defense agreed to the new date set by the military judge.
A motion for expert assistance filed by the defense was determined to be moot at the hearing, also. The government is providing expert assistance for the defense. Both the defense and government counsels agreed to the determination.
Bozicevich, of Minneapolis, Minn., is charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of Staff Sgt. Dawson and Sgt. Durbin on Sept. 14, 2008 while deployed to patrol base Jurf in Iskandariyah, Iraq. All three soldiers were assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd ID.
Testimony in earlier hearings said Dawson and Durbin had been trying to discipline Bozicevich for actions in Iraq. The defense team has implied it will use a self-defense arguments to show Bozicevich did not murder the other sergeants.
As is the case in every court-martial, the accused is presumed innocent of the charges unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
If convicted of the offenses, Bozicevich could face the death penalty.
The court-martial for Sgt. Joseph Bozicevich is now scheduled to begin June 7, 2010. Attorneys for both the government and the defense agreed to the new date set by the military judge.
A motion for expert assistance filed by the defense was determined to be moot at the hearing, also. The government is providing expert assistance for the defense. Both the defense and government counsels agreed to the determination.
Bozicevich, of Minneapolis, Minn., is charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of Staff Sgt. Dawson and Sgt. Durbin on Sept. 14, 2008 while deployed to patrol base Jurf in Iskandariyah, Iraq. All three soldiers were assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd ID.
Testimony in earlier hearings said Dawson and Durbin had been trying to discipline Bozicevich for actions in Iraq. The defense team has implied it will use a self-defense arguments to show Bozicevich did not murder the other sergeants.
As is the case in every court-martial, the accused is presumed innocent of the charges unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
If convicted of the offenses, Bozicevich could face the death penalty.