Plot

A military lawyer is tasked with defending two US Marines charged with murdering a fellow Marine and intends to prove they were only following their base commander's orders.

In this dramatic courtroom thriller, Lieutenant Junior Grade Daniel Kaffee, a Navy lawyer who has never seen the inside of the courtroom, defends two stubborn Marines who have been accused of murdering a colleague. Kaffee is known as being lazy and had arranged for a plea bargain. Downey's Aunt Ginny appoints Lieutenant Commander Galloway to represent him. Also on the legal staff is LTJG Sam Weinberg. The team rounds up many facts and Kaffee is discovering that he is really cut out for trial work. The defense is originally based upon the fact that PFC Santiago, the victim, was given a "CODE RED". Santiago was basically a screw-up. At Gitmo, screw-ups aren't tolerated. Especially by Col. Nathan Jessup. In Cuba, Jessup and two senior officers try to give all the help they can, but Kaffee knows something's fishy. In the conclusion of the film, the fireworks are set off by a confrontation between Jessup and Kaffee.—Matt Curtolo <curt@epix.net>

At Guantanamo Marine Base, a private is attacked by 2 other marines and dies as a result. An investigation is conducted by Lt. Commander Jo Galloway and reveals to her superiors that she believes that the private was attacked by because he was going over the head of Colonel Jessup, the base commander and was threatening to reveal something unless he gets a transfer, so Jessup ordered a "code red" which is basically a type hazing done which is not legal. Galloway wants to be assigned to defend the 2 marines but her superior prefers that the whole go away quietly so he denies her request and has the case assigned to Lt. Dan Kaffee, a Naval lawyer who hasn't tried a case in court and prefers to plea his cases out. But Galloway warns him that if he pleads the case out, Jessup will get away with murder. Kaffee decides not to plead the case out and tries to defend them but there's no proof that Jessup actually gave the order.—rcs0411@yahoo.com

Subpar Guantanomo Bay marine PFC William Santiago mysteriously died after his platoon mates Lance Corporal Harold Dawson and PFC Landon Downy give him a "code red." The two are charged with his murder and Liutentent Daniel Kaffee is assigned lead defense counsel on the case. Assisting Kaffe on the case are Liutentent Sam Weinberg and Liutentent Commander Joanne Galloway. On the opposing side are Col. Nathan Jessup, a harsh marine with something to hide, and Lt. Johnothan Kendrick, Santiago's strict and suspicious platoon commander. the movie follows the struggle for Kaffee, Golloway, and Weinberg to prove their client's innocence against the prosecution.

The facts: Guantanamo Bay, Cuba - Gitmo as it is known - based marines Lance Corporal Harold Dawson and Private Louden Downey assaulted Private William Santiago in the middle of the night, which included stuffing a rag into his mouth, Santiago who died shortly thereafter of respiratory complications. Special Judge Advocate Counsel Lieutenant Joanne Galloway believes Dawson and Downey were just following orders, as part of the marines' unofficial "code red" where there is self policing within the ranks, and that there was no intent of murder. Galloway, a naive lawyer who seeks fairness and justice at all cost, wants to be assigned the case but she has no trial experience. Instead, the military assigns Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee to be Dawson and Downey's counsel. Kaffee is a lightweight lawyer who also has no trial experience and has a history of taking, as Galloway refers, the path of least resistance by plea bargaining regardless of his clients' guilt/innocence and their wants. Galloway becomes co-counsel in the case. The two, with their assistant Lieutenant Sam Weinberg, have to decide what to do, not an easy task considering their differing views on law and what is best for all including themselves. They do believe Dawson and Downey's story that they were following unofficial/official code red orders, but are uncertain if their case is winnable, especially against the marine machine run by Gitmo's Colonel Nathan Jessep.—Huggo

U.S. Marines Lance Corporal Harold Dawson (Wolfgang Bodison) and Private First-Class Louden Downey (James Marshall) are facing a general court-martial, accused of murdering fellow Marine William Santiago (Michael DeLorenzo) at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba.

Santiago had poor relations with his fellow Marines. He was also clumsy, would lag on exercises and was socially ostracized. In his attempts to get transferred out of Guantanamo, Santiago wrote to the Atlantic Fleet Commander, the Commandant of the Marine Corps and even to his Senator.

Base Commander Colonel Nathan Jessup (Jack Nicholson) and his officers had argued about the best course of action: while Jessup's executive officer, Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Markinson (J.T. Walsh), advocated that Santiago be transferred, Jessup dismissed the option and instead ordered Santiago's commanding officer, Lieutenant Jonathan James Kendrick (Kiefer Sutherland), to "train" Santiago to become a better Marine. When Markinson questioned this decision, Jessup rebuked him by saying that they were both peers out of the academy, but Jessup got promoted faster and implied that Markinson was having trouble adjusting to this. He told Markinson not to question his orders in front of other officers.

The following night, Dawson and Downey attacked Santiago in his room, stuffed a rag down his throat and covered it with duct tape. Santiago started bleeding internally and drowned in his own blood. He was taken to a base hospital and declared dead an hour later.

Investigations revealed that the rag put down Santiago's throat was dipped in some toxic substance. The base doctor did not detect the toxin at 3 AM but later reported the toxin at 5 AM.

It is believed that the motive in Santiago's murder was retribution for reporting Dawson to the Naval Investigative Service. In exchange for a transfer away from Guantanamo, Santiago would testify that Dawson illegally fired his rifle at a guard on the Cuban side of the island.

Naval investigator and lawyer Lieutenant Commander Joanne Galloway (Demi Moore) suspects that Dawson and Downey actually carried out a "Code Red": a violent extrajudicial punishment. She argues that Dawson and Downey are recruiting poster marines while Santiago had a spotty service record and Code Reds are the treatment usually meted out in such situations: soldiers are submitted to methods akin to bullying to get them to improve their performance, toe the line or follow procedure.

Galloway wants to defend the two accused, but the case is given to Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) - an inexperienced and unenthusiastic lawyer. Kaffee has been out of law school for a little over a year and has had 44 cases dismissed through plea bargains. He has never stepped inside a courtroom and it is indicated that he has a subconscious fear about having to match up to his late father, Lionel Kaffee, who is regarded as one of the great trial lawyers of recent times. Lieutenant (junior grade) Sam Weinberg (Kevin Pollak), USN, JAG Corps is assigned to assist Kaffee in the case.

It is implied that senior officers in the JAG Corps want the case to be disposed of quickly and Kaffee is more likely to do this than Galloway. The Guantanamo base commander, Colonel Jessup, is expected to take up an important post with the National Security Council (NSC), which advises and assists the US President on military, security and foreign policy, and this could be put in jeopardy due to the Santiago affair.

Galloway is unimpressed by Kaffee who, without having met the accused or having seen a single piece of evidence, quickly suggests that he could plea bargain Dawson and Downey's case to 12 years in prison without any charges of conspiracy or conduct unbecoming a Marine. Galloway insists that he look further into the matter first.

Galloway and Kaffee instantly conflict, with Galloway unsettled by Kaffee's apparent laziness while Kaffee resents Galloway's interference. Galloway sees Kaffee as a Harvard Law School Alumni who joined the JAG in order to emulate his father, who also served as JAG. Now, he is only biding his three years of mandatory service before he is discharged and gets a real job as a civilian. Galloway refuses to accept that Dawson and Downey spend any more time in prison than necessary just because their lawyer seemingly does not care.

Captain Jack Ross (Kevin Bacon), USMC, Judge Advocate Division is the attorney allocated to prosecute the defendants. He and Kaffee are friends and Ross is prepared to make a deal for 12 years if only to prevent the issue of Code Reds from being made public in court. His suddenness surprises Kaffee who tells Ross that he will think about it.

Kaffee, Weinberg and Galloway travel to the Guantanamo base in Cuba to question Colonel Jessup and other officers. Lt. Kendrick tells them that he ordered the platoon not to touch Santiago; and Col. Jessup also states that Santiago was set to be transferred away from Guantanamo for his own safety. He was due to leave at 6 AM the next day but was killed the previous night.

Jessup reveals himself to be extremely authoritative and supremely condescending to those who dare to question him about anything. Pressed by Galloway, Jessup denies that Code Reds, which are against military guidelines, are encouraged but makes little secret of the fact that he sees them as a good way of enforcing discipline, especially on the front line. When Kaffee asks him for a copy of Santiago's transfer order, Jessup insists that he ask "nicely" in recognition of Jessup's status as a front-line officer defending their nation against "4000 Cubans who are trained to kill" him.

Upon their return to Washington D.C., Kaffee and Galloway learn that Jessup's deputy, Lt-Col. Markinson, has gone AWOL and is unlikely to be found since he is a veteran intelligence operative who can cover his tracks. Galloway, meanwhile, has arranged for herself to be on the defense team as Downey's attorney but agrees that Kaffee remains lead counsel.

Dawson and Downey confirm that Kendrick ordered the platoon not to touch Santiago, but then say that Kendrick went to their room and ordered them to inflict a Code Red on him anyway. They never intended to kill Santiago, just to shave his head to teach him a lesson, but he died as a result of the rag being shoved into his mouth as a gag.

Ross wants to avoid a trial and offers a charge of involuntary manslaughter, with a sentence of 2 years and early parole in 6 months. Dawson rejects the deal, adamant that they only followed orders and if that was wrong then they would rather accept the consequences. He states that he and Downey joined the marines in order to live by a certain code: Unit, Corps, God, Country, and that Santiago violated that code.

Kaffee admits that he doubts if he can win the case in court and thus insists that it is better to take the 2 years sentence rather than fight the case which could result in the defendants serving 20 years instead. Seeing Kaffee as a coward who retreats rather than fight, Dawson shows outright contempt for him, refusing to salute or acknowledge him as an officer.

Frustrated by Dawson's stubbornness, Kaffee decides to resign from the case but, after thinking things through, determines to go ahead. He, Galloway and Weinberg work flat out preparing their defense which involves weeks of intensive research, discussions, planning and rehearsals on cross-examination. However, on the eve of the trial, Kaffee concludes "We're gonna get creamed!"

The court-martial begins with Judge Colonel Julius Alexander Randolph (J.A. Preston), USMC presiding. During the cross-examination of other Marines from Guantanamo, it is established that Code Reds are standard at the base as a means of getting sloppy recruits to follow procedure, such as taking proper care of accommodation and equipment or completing exercises successfully. Santiago was clearly not up to doing any of these and yet was not subjected to a Code Red until the evening of his death. Cpl. Jeffrey Barnes (Noah Wyle), who has also been a victim of a Code Red, claims that Dawson would not have allowed it.

Kaffee also gets the examining doctor, Commander Stone ([Christopher Guest), to testify that the Lactic Acidosis in Santiago (which caused the internal bleeding) could also be caused due to a medical condition, a heart problem, and not just the presence of poison in the body. The court is then told that every medical report shows that Santiago had the symptoms of a heart problem. Kaffee alleges that the doctor noted poison as the cause of death as he had given Santiago a clean bill of health despite him displaying all the symptoms indicating a coronary disorder.

Kaffee's effectiveness as a lawyer strengthens as the trial progresses and he proves to be a tough and able cross-examiner, impressing even Galloway by the way he handles the proceedings. However, he is under little illusion that his clients are unlikely to be let off. They have never denied assaulting Santiago so the best Kaffee can do is persuade the jury that they were acting under orders from Lt. Kendrick.

Lt. Col Markinson, who has been AWOL from Guantanamo, suddenly appears in Kaffee's car halfway through the trial. When Kaffee was in Cuba, Jessup told him that Santiago was due to be transferred off the base for safety reasons but Markinson now reveals that that was a lie and that he and Jessup forged the transfer order as part of a cover-up five days after Santiago's death. In fact, Jessup wanted Santiago to stay on the base to be "trained".

Markinson also states that Santiago could have left the base in a plane on the evening of his death, rather than the following day as Jessup had claimed. Kaffee is unable to find evidence of the earlier flight in the log book from the Guantanamo airfield. Markinson believes that Jessup covered this up as well.

While cross-examining Lt. Kendrick, Kaffee manages to establish that Cpl Dawson had been denied promotion for smuggling food to a Marine who had been sentenced to bread and water by Kendrick: disobeying a direct order. Kaffee establishes that disobeying a direct order has serious consequences in the Marine Corps. Under oath, Kendrick denies telling Dawson and Downey to inflict a Code Red on Santiago.

However, the defense then suffers two major setbacks: Downey, under cross-examination, reveals he was not present when Dawson received the supposed Code Red order from Kendrick; and Markinson, cracking under the strain, commits suicide before he can testify.

Without Markinson's testimony, Kaffee believes the case is lost. He later returns home in a drunken stupor, lamenting that he fought the case instead of taking the deal. Galloway tries to convince him to summon Jessup to court and confront him. She believes that it was actually Jessup who ordered the Code Red and that they have to get him to admit it. There is no evidence for this whatsoever and accusing a superior officer of such a felony without proof could result in Kaffee himself facing a court-martial which will ruin his career.

After Galloway storms out, Kaffee reflects on his late father with Weinberg. Weinberg admits that, without evidence, Kaffee's father would never try to blame Jessup, but also says he would rather have the younger Kaffee as a lawyer for Dawson and Downey any day. Weinberg pushes his friend to consider if it is he or Lionel Kaffee who is handling the case and Daniel Kaffee finally decides to put Jessup on the stand.

Jessup is summoned to court. Just as Kaffee is about to start his cross-examination, Weinberg arrives with two Airmen from the Andrews Air Force Base which Jessup does not fail to notice. Kaffee initially gets Jessup to confirm that he had arranged for Santiago to be transferred off the base for his own safety and that the earliest flight was on the morning following his death.

Kaffe then questions him about his travel habits. Jessup admits packing sets of clothes, including civilian and military, and various other items. He also admits to phoning several friends and relatives in order to meet them while in Washington D.C.

Kaffee then points out that Santiago did none of those things! At the time of his death his clothes were unpacked and still hanging in his closet and, after spending months in desperate and vain attempts to get a transfer, he did not contact anyone or make arrangements to be picked up at the airport.

Kaffee is hoping that these inconsistencies will unsettle Jessup into admitting the transfer order was phony. However, Jessup successfully outsmarts him by saying that he cannot speculate on Santiago's habits and he especially belittles Kaffee for pinning his clients' defense on a phone bill. Kaffee is struck dumb by this setback and Jessup is about to leave with a triumphant smug when the young man demands that he sit down again.

Jessup spars evenly with Kaffee's questioning, but is unnerved when Kaffee points out a contradiction in his testimony: Jessup stated his Marines never disobey orders and that Santiago was to be transferred because he was in danger of retribution. If, Kaffee asks, Jessup ordered his men to leave Santiago alone then how could Santiago be in danger?

Irate at being caught in a lie and disgusted by what he sees as Kaffee's impudence towards the Marines, Jessup extols the military's importance, and his own, to national security. As Kaffee demands to be told the truth, Jessup explodes: "You can't handle the truth!"

Because he defends his country, Colonel Jessup does not see why Kaffee, who has never been on the front line, should even question his methods from "under the blanket of the very freedom I provide". Kaffee, he says, should either thank him for protecting his country and his way of life or take up a gun and do it himself. But as the two men shut out their points at each other, Kaffee finally gets an angry Jessup to admit that he did in fact order the Code Red!

At the prompting of Kaffee and the Judge, prosecutor Ross places Jessup under arrest. Jessup is outraged and lashes out at Kaffee, accusing him of weakening the nation. Kaffee simply expresses satisfaction that Jessup will go to jail for the death of Santiago. He later admits to Ross that the Airmen were brought to court as a bluff to make Jessup believe that the defense had evidence of the earlier flight which he covered up. Kendrick will also be arrested for ordering the Code Red, committing perjury (when he denied doing it) and participating in the cover-up.

Dawson and Downey are found not guilty of murder but are dishonorably discharged for "conduct unbecoming a United States Marine." Downey is confused, pointing out that Jessup confirmed that they were obeying orders, but, after getting over the initial shock, Dawson points out that they failed to stand up for those too weak to stand up for themselves, like Santiago.

Kaffee then tells Dawson that he does not have to wear a patch on his arm to have honor. Dawson sheds his previous contempt for Kaffee, acknowledges him as an officer, and they exchange salutes.