Colonel John J. “Jay” Canham, Jr.
100 Jefferson Blvd., Suite 225
Warwick, Rhode Island 02888
Work: (401) 737-6222, Cell: (401) 824-4490
Civilian Experience: 2006-2010—Private Legal Practice/Teaching
Adjunct Professor at Roger Williams University: Lectured in the areas of Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, Substantive Criminal Law, Juvenile Justice, Military Law and Constitutional Law.
Private Practice: General practice with a concentration in criminal defense.
Military Experience: 1983-2005—Active Duty, U.S. Marine Corps, retiring at the rank of Colonel
Staff Judge Advocate: I Marine Expeditionary Force, 1st Marine Division, USMC Recruit Depot (June 1998-December 2005).
In-house General Counsel to the Commander, staff and subordinate Commanders of combat units and domestic installations. Provided advice on criminal law, administrative separations, ethics, operational/international law, major investigations, contract law, labor law, officer misconduct issues, Freedom of Information Act requests, Congressional/special interest inquires and public relations.
Regional/Senior Defense Counsel: Legal Service Support Section, West Coast/ Western Pacific (June 1993- June 1998).
Supervised and trained over 150 defense attorneys, while trying a full case load of felonies and misdemeanors. Cases included premeditated murder, rape, child sexual abuse and aggravated assault. Trial work included extensive motion practice. Responsible for preparing and presenting numerous professional military education classes.
Military Law Instructor: Naval Justice School, Naval Education and Training Center, Newport, RI. (June 1988-June 1992).
Taught over 2000 attorneys, Officers and paralegals in various blocks of graduate level instruction to include trial advocacy, 4th and 5th amendment law and evidence. Head of the Evidence Division, 1991-1992.
Defense Counsel/Family Law Attorney/Chief Prosecutor: Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro, CA. (November 1984-June 1988).
Defended over 100 clients in misdemeanor and felony trials against charges of rape, aggravated assault, child sexual assault, narcotics distribution and larceny from 1984-1986. Represented over 150 clients in family law related areas from 1986-1987. Served as the coordinating prosecutor for all air station criminal prosecutions from 1987-1988; personally managed and prosecuted over 120 felony and misdemeanor cases. Advised the respective commands on a myriad of legal issues; administered legal and professional training for attorneys in the prosecuting office. Both defense and prosecution practice included trial investigation, motions, pretrial negotiations and litigation.
Prosecutor: 3rd Force Service Support Group, Okinawa, Japan. (November 1983-November 1984).
Tracked and coordinated all criminal investigations, as well as the ultimate prosecutions of both misdemeanor and felony offenses committed by Marine and Navy personnel
Education:
LL.M.,Criminal/Military Law, TJAGSA, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA. (May 1993)
Juris Doctorate, Suffolk University Law School, Boston, MA. (May 1982)
Bachelor of Arts, History, Providence College, Providence, RI. (May 1979)
Related Professional Training: The following represents a small sample of the many courses attended:
-Prosecuting Drug Cases, National College of District Attorneys (NCDA), Boston, MA.
-Prosecuting Child Abuse Cases, National College of District Attorneys (NCDA), San Francisco, CA.
-Domestic Violence, The National Judicial College, Reno, NV.
Accomplishments:
Served a seven month combat tour in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II.
As legal counsel for the Crisis Response Team at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, SD,CA, coordinated counter-terrorist measures among local police departments and federal agencies during Operation Iraqi Freedom I.
Authored Military Rule of Evidence 707: A Bright Line Rule Which Needs to be Dimmed. Published in the Military Law Review Vol. 140, Spring 1993.
Involved in the litigation of over 500 criminal cases, including 110 in court criminal trials, 19 of which were fully contested felony jury trials. Case record includes the defense of two potential capital murder cases.
Military Decorations:
The Legion of Merit with gold star (2nd award)
Bronze Star
Meritorious Service Medal
Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with gold star (2nd award)
Iraq Campaign Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (x2)
National Defense Service Medal (x2)
Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon
Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation (x5)
Navy Unit Commendation
Bar Membership:
Rhode Island State Bar, 1982
Federal Bar, 1982
Court of Appeals of the Armed Forces, 1983