LIVE: TikTok LIVE, October 17, 2026, Part 1

Military defense attorney Jocelyn Stewart goes live on TikTok to talk about the Hasan execution announcement and the more than 100 Fort Hood soldiers who reportedly requested religious accommodation, then takes viewers' questions: the three times she was accused of ineffective assistance of counsel, the Darnall hospital baby-kidnapping case, and the murder case that still haunts her.

CBS News and CNN have reported on the plan to execute Hasan by firing squad.

Read more about Jocelyn Stewart's credentials, trial record and publications on her law firm's website.

Jocelyn Stewart starts this Saturday TikTok LIVE with the latest on the scheduled execution of Nidal Hasan. She spends most of the hour on something defense lawyers rarely talk about in public: what happens when a court-martial client says the defense lawyer was ineffective. As on all her LIVEs, she says this is information only. She does not give personal legal advice on a LIVE.

What is ineffective assistance of counsel in a court-martial?

Ineffective assistance of counsel is a claim, usually raised on appeal, that the defense lawyer's work fell so far below the standard that it was almost as if the accused had no lawyer at all. Jocelyn explains two reasons these claims are hard to win. First, the court judges the defense team as a whole, not one lawyer alone. Second, if an issue wasn't raised at trial, the appellate court generally steps in only when the error is obvious and clear.

When a claim looks serious, the appellate court may hold a hearing where the trial defense lawyers testify. More often, it orders them to answer written questions in affidavits. Lawyers often defend themselves by saying they knew about the issue and made a tactical choice. Jocelyn has faced three of these claims herself, and her advice to other defense lawyers is simple: "If you're a trial defense counsel out there, if you miss something, just own it."

She says that for most of her 24 years, military appellate courts rarely found ineffective assistance. Over the last year or two she has seen a real increase in cases where they do.

What happens if investigators lose a recorded interview?

The problem that frustrates her most is lost recordings. Recorded interviews, sometimes the alleged victim's very first one, are being deleted, written over or lost. If evidence is lost or destroyed through no fault of the defense, and a fair trial can't be had without it, the defense can file a motion to abate. Jocelyn explains that the judge "shall" abate the case, not "may," until the evidence is recovered. If it can't be recovered, the case stays abated for good. It isn't called a dismissal, but it has the same effect.

She describes a recent appellate opinion where the defense never filed that motion. Instead, the lawyers cross-examined the agent about the lost recording, then told the appellate court that skipping the motion was a tactical decision. In her view, no tactical reason could justify it.

Can a military accused raise issues their appellate lawyer won't?

Yes. Through what are called Grostefon matters, a military accused can write directly to the appellate court about issues their appellate counsel chose not to brief. Many ineffective assistance claims, including one against her, reach the court this way.

Below, members get the full episode guide and the story behind each of the three claims made against her.

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Topics: Fort Hood Shooting · Unlawful Command Influence · Murder & Homicide Cases

In this series: October 17, 2026 LIVE, part 1 of 2. Next: LIVE: TikTok LIVE, October 17, 2026, Part 2