LIVE: TikTok LIVE, October 17, 2026, Part 2

Military defense attorney Jocelyn Stewart continues her October 17 TikTok LIVE: how trial lawyers are made, the first trial that hooked her as a law student, studying Colonel Mike Mulligan's transcripts, why watching a trial on camera isn't the same as sitting in the jury box, and viewers' questions about court-martial data and the cases they want her to look at.

Her law firm's website has a plain-English guide to how a court-martial works, from investigation to appeal.

In the second half of her October 17 TikTok LIVE, Jocelyn talks about how she studies other trial lawyers and then takes viewer questions on court-martial practice. As always on her LIVEs, she does not give personal legal advice. She asks viewers to keep their own details out of the chat and treats the session as general information and education.

Are military trials open to the public?

A viewer had suggested she was doing something wrong by talking about what happened at a military trial, on the assumption that courts-martial are secret. Jocelyn's answer: "You guys, trials are public. The default is public."

She explains that a court can be closed only for narrow parts of a case. Examples include litigating the prior sexual acts of an alleged victim, records covered by Rule 513 (medical or psychiatric records), and classified or national-security evidence. Once that issue is decided, the court has to reopen. She adds that wrongly closing a part of a trial that should have been public can even get a conviction overturned. In her view, a public trial is about transparency and accountability, and that matters most in military cases.

Will hiring a civilian lawyer make me look guilty at a court-martial?

Jocelyn says some service members worry that a panel will see a paid civilian lawyer as a sign of guilt. Others worry that members will view a civilian as an outsider to "their" system. She takes on both concerns in voir dire. She asks panel members whether they can imagine why an innocent person would hire counsel from outside the military system, and whether anyone thinks she shouldn't be there in her civilian capacity because it's a military case.

She is also blunt about the civilian side of the market. She says some civilian lawyers take the fee and leave the appointed military counsel to do the work. A Navy defense counsel she worked with calls that a "pretrial fine." Her advice is to find out whether a civilian does this as a dedicated practice or just dabbles in it.

What happens to a lawyer found ineffective on appeal?

In most cases, nothing, and she thinks that is a problem. Unless a judge specifically sanctions the attorney and says the finding is reportable, she says there typically isn't even a requirement for the lawyer to self-report to a state bar. She argues that a finding of ineffective assistance should at least raise a question under Rule 1.1, the duty of competence. She also points out that military counsel, unlike civilians, never have to state on the record where they are licensed.

The members section has the full episode guide, the law school trial that shaped her cross-examination style, and the rest of the viewer Q&A.

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More Episodes You Might Like

• LIVE: TikTok LIVE, October 17, 2026, Part 1
• S4 E4: Trying a Case in the Public Eye
• S1 E48: Panel Selection Practice Points

Jocelyn follows the Air Force major's case, Maj. Jason Watson, in her TikTok collection Air Force Major in Pretrial Confinement.

Topics: Unlawful Command Influence · Trial Practice & Courtroom Tactics

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