LIVINGSTON COUNTY VETERAN OF
THE MONTH APRIL 2024

     Captain James Kemnitz first commissioned through Niagara University's Army ROTC Program in 2013 as a Distinguished Military Graduate.  With an education delay, he then attended Notre Dame Law School and was accepted into the United States Army Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps in 2016.  After assessing in the top 10% of his JAG Officer Basic Course, he was assigned to 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) at Fort Drum, New York.  CPT Kemnitz was first assigned as an Administrative Law Attorney advising the Commanding General and Garrison Commander on contract, fiscal, and ethics matters and administrative investigations.  He was then sent from Division to 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team as an Operational Law Attorney, advising 47 command teams on the law of war, rules of engagement, and operational and administrative investigations.  CPT Kemnitz then served as the Brigade's trial counsel, prosecuting assault, drug, sexual assault, and child victim criminal offenses at military courts-martial.  Of note, CPT Kemnitz' motions and oral arguments were repeatedly quoted verbatim in precedent-setting decisions from the Army Court of Criminal Appeals and the Court of Appeals of the Armed Forces.  After four years of Active Duty, CPT Kemnitz transitioned to the Reserves as a Legal Assistance Attorney in the 7th Legal Operations Detachment and was ultimately medically retired in 2021.

 

     CPT Kemnitz continues his passion for justice and public service at the Livingston County Public Defender's Office as a family court attorney.  He and his wife, Joanne, live in Caledonia with their three boys Michael, Christopher, and Theodore.  CPT Kemnitz also continues to be active in American Legion Post 255 and the Caledonia War Memorial.