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Old November 21, 2004, 09:22 PM   #26
4V50 Gary
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Join Date: November 2, 1998
Location: Colorado
Posts: 21,824
Court Martial

Now, during the late unpleasantness between the North & the South, some Generals hid alcohol in their tents. Medicinal purposes, you understand. Well, one Union General, General Torbet, had a sweet tooth and hid in a chest beneath his bed a stash of candy. He deliberately cluttered his tent with tables, chairs, boxes and paperwork. His aide, Pvt. Peter Clancy, discovered the stash and would cautiously take a piece every few days so that the good General would not notice.

One day the good General Torbet returned early from an inspection and caught Pvt. Clancy in the act. The case was tried by Lt. Halsey (ancestor to the great Admiral Halsey of WW II). Halsey didn't think much of it and neither did the Court Martial Board, who gave Pvt. Clancy a slap on the wrist.

This threw General Torbet into an outrage and he fired the entire Court-Martial board, except Halsey and appointed a new one. Lt. Halsey attempted to convince General Torbet that Pvt. Clancy could not be tried twice for the same offense (double jeopardy). Torbet replied that this was the army and oh yes, he could and would.

Halsey relented and put Clancy's case into the file for court-martial. However, every time that Clancy's case came to the top, Halsey discretely stuffed it into the bottom. He did this repeatedly while simultaneously promising General Torbet that he would bring Pvt. Clancy to trial. When General Torbet was promoted and transferred out, Halsey threw out the case. Ahh, true military justice.
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