By Mike Barber, Seattle Post-Intelligencer. October 5, 2007

A federal judge in Tacoma has delayed the court-martial of 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, a Fort Lewis Army officer to refuse to deploy to Iraq.

In a rare intervention of a civilian court in the military justice system, U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin H. Settle granted the emergency stay shortly before close of business Friday. Watada's trial, slated to begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, is now postponed until at least Oct. 26, the judge ruled.

In granting the stay at 4:48 p.m., Settle determined that he has jurisdiction under federal law to grant the stay and that Watada's claim that a second-trial amounts to double jeopardy is not frivolous and "has merit" for consideration.

Also: Editorial Board of the Seattle Post Intelligencer has called for Ehren's release from the Army today "without further ado," and Amnesty International declares conviction would be a violation of rights.

"The irreparable harm suffered by being put to a trial a second time in violation of the double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment stems not just from being subjected to double punishment but also from undergoing a second trial proceeding," Settle wrote in quoting case law.

Watada's lawyers, Jim Lobsenz and Ken Kagan of the Seattle firm Carney Badley Spellman, have argued that the circumstances of a mistrial declared in Watada's court-martial in February result in double jeopardy -- being tried twice for the same charge.

The mistrial was declared over Watada's objections and after a panel of military officers acting as a jury had heard evidence but not begun deliberations.