Michael Waddington

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Michael Stewart Waddington (born September 20, 1974, and raised in New Castle, Pennsylvania) is an American Criminal Defense lawyer specializing in serious felonies, court martial cases, and war crimes.

Bagram Abuse Cases
Michael Waddington gained international recognition for his defense of SGT Alan Driver at Fort Bliss, Texas in February 2006. Waddington was an Army Captain and JAG defense lawyer when he represented SGT Driver. SGT Driver was court martialed for allegedly abusing detainees captured in the "War on Terror" who were held at the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, in 2002. Driver was charged with beating a Taliban Division Commander known as Habibullah, who the Army says died of his injuries. He was also accused of throwing a shackled and handcuffed prisoner, Omar al-Faruq, against a wall. Faruq was the top al-Qaida deputy for Southeast Asia with a long history of terrorism. At trial, SGT Driver was fully acquitted of all charges after less than 15 minutes of jury deliberations.

The trial gained international media coverage when the Army was forced to reveal that Faruq had escaped from U.S. custody in July 2005. He remained at large during the trial but was later killed in September 2006 in Basra, Iraq by British Forces during a raid.

Operation Iron Triangle Triple Murder - "Kill 'em All"
In June 2006, Waddington was in private legal practice when he was called on to defend SPC William B. Hunsaker in a triple murder case. Four soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division were accused of executing suspected al-Qaida insurgents that were captured during a raid near Samarra, Iraq on 9 May 2006. The case made international headlines when evidence revealed that SPC Hunsaker's commander, COL Michael D. Steele, gave orders to "kill all military age males" on the objective. The objective was a confirmed al-Qaida training compound, visited by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. COL Steele is an officer who once commanded a Ranger company sent into Mogadishu, Somalia, on a rescue mission that was recounted in the book and movie "Black Hawk Down."

Waddington and other defense lawyers, including Paul Bergrin, defended the four soldiers in court proceedings in Tikrit, Iraq and Fort Campbell, KY. After 8 months of legal battles, SPC Juston Graber, one of the accused, entered into an agreement with the prosecution to testify against SPC Hunsaker and the other defendants. Facing a mandatory life sentence, SPC Hunsaker and PFC Corey Clagett, another defendant, entered plea deals that reduced their maximum sentence to 18 years, making them eligible for parole after 5 1/2 years. At SPC Hunsaker's guilty plea, he told the military judge that by killing three al-Qaida operatives, he believes that he was saving American lives and his actions were a "lesser evil for the greater good."

Meanwhile, COL Steele received a letter of reprimand for his actions and was granted immunity from the 101st Airborne Division Commander.

Allegations of Detainee Abuse at the Battle of Fallajah, Iraq
In February 2007, Waddington was called to defend an Army Sergeant of allegations of using a baseball bat to assault enemy insurgents captured at the 2004 Battle of Fallajah, Iraq. The Sergeant was a member of the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, stationed at Forward Operating Base Mercury (FOB Mercury) in Iraq. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 2007 in the case.