On Friday, October 30, 2015, Brett Walker, BC Law ’13 and a member of the West Point Class of 2004 (pictured above right), was promoted to the rank of Major in the US Army. The ceremony was held in the courtroom of another BC Law alum, Eleanor C. Sinnott ’89 of the Boston Municipal Court, who had volunteered to host it.
The ceremony itself wasn’t unusual, but the audience in attendance was: a group of military veterans that Walker is paid to prosecute.
The Boston Globe recently profiled Walker’s role as lead prosecutor in a remarkable Suffolk County program intended to serve as a special court for veterans accused of crimes. The program takes into consideration the unique pressures and post-traumatic stress suffered by members of the military who have seen active duty. The goal is to keep them out of jail by providing a strict monitoring and social services approach to rehabilitation.
Before his promotion, Walker was serving as an infantry officer in an International Affairs position for the Massachusetts National Guard. This was in addition to his “civilian” position as Assistant District Attorney in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. Walker is also a contributing author to the recently published The Strong Gray Line: War-time Reflections from the West Point Class of 2004 (Rowman & Littlefield). The book includes a tribute to each of the fourteen classmates who lost their lives fighting the Global War on Terror, as well as thirteen personal essays that detail some of the most brutal fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Walker’s chapter, “…And the Party Never Ends,” is a tribute to his classmate and good friend Benjamin Britt.
The authors plan to donate all proceeds they receive from the book to charities chosen by the families of the fallen classmates.
To read the full Globe profile on Walker and the court for veterans, see “Prosecutor draws on military service to help soldiers in trouble with the law.”