Guilty as Charged

Standing nervously before ten officers, Captain Howard Brett Levy listened to their verdict, his hands clasped behind his back, and then returned wordlessly to his seat. Thus the court-martial of the antiwar doctor drew to its predictable conclusion last week at Fort Jackson, S.C. The court found Levy guilty of disobeying an order and two lesser counts of promoting "disloyalty and disaffection" among Army troops bound for Viet Nam. His sentence: three years' imprisonment at hard labor, a dishonorable discharge, and forfeiture of all pay and allowances.

Though Levy, 30, tried vainly in the 13-day trial to excuse his rebellious conduct as a matter of principle, the pallid, intense Brooklyn dermatologist appeared to be more often stricken by confusion than conscience. Though claiming that he refused to teach Special Forces aidmen simple skin-disease remedies because he believed they would commit war crimes in Viet Nam, he was unable to support the charge. In a switch of tactics, his attorneys last week argued that to teach the Green Berets medical skills would have violated Levy's professional ethics, since the troopers were combatants first and medics second and would use their knowledge for political ends. Therefore, they maintained, he was perfectly justified in refusing the order.

Despite an array of sympathetic doctors called to support Levy, including Dr. Benjamin Spock, the antiwar baby doctor, the military tribunal remained unconvinced. Ruled Presiding Law Officer Colonel Earl V. Brown: Levy was "not justified in disobeying the order on grounds that it was contrary to his medical judgments or ethical beliefs." With that, Levy's case collapsed. The jury deliberated nearly six hours before arriving at its verdict.

Levy's attorneys protested that he was being "martyred," and that indeed may have been his intention. Had he avoided being court-martialed, he would have been honorably discharged when his two-year term ends next month.

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