ABA Tribal Courts Judicial Fellow J. Matthew Martin was effusive in his praise of Col. Osborn—"Col. Osborn is one of the most brilliant and diligent jurists I have ever known. The ABA is so fortunate to have her extensive leadership skill set in service of the Fellows/JOLs cohort.”
Col. Osborn’s duties as Military Judicial Fellow include promoting judicial education for military and civilian judges hearing impaired driving cases. She will provide education and resources on such topics as screening and assessments, evidence-based sentencing practices, sentencing and supervision practices and the unique concerns of military members involved in the justice system. Her new role also focuses on serving as a conduit to deliver resources, research and education opportunities to military commanders e through individual outreach and as part of structured commander legal orientation courses and to judges through a variety of sources including the National Judicial College, National Center for State Courts, and NHTSA and its cooperative partners. The military judicial fellow position provides Col. Osborn with the opportunity to identify and research issues of concern to judges and military commanders related to servicemembers involved with impaired driving incidents.
Col. Osborn retired after more than twenty-nine years of active military service as an Army lawyer, judge, and ultimately as the 21st Chief Trial Judge of the U.S. Army. In that role, she presided over felony criminal trials, which included capital cases, oversaw judicial operations at military installations worldwide, and led all active duty and reserve judges of the Army Trial Judiciary. Col. Osborn presided over the Fort Hood, Texas mass shooting capital case. Before her appointment to the trial bench, she completed a U.S. Army War College fellowship as Special Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, DC.
During her active military service, Col. Osborn served in a variety of legal and operational assignments both in the U.S. and overseas. She is a combat veteran of the Persian Gulf War with service in Iraq and served two tours along the Korean Demilitarized Zone. She served at all levels of the Army Trial Judiciary; as a strategic planner on the Joint Staff in Washington, DC; Staff Judge Advocate of the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea; litigation attorney with both the U.S. Army Litigation Division and the Department of Defense Office of General Counsel; Chief of Criminal Law for III Corps and Fort Hood, Texas, and prosecutor with 1st Armored Division in Germany. Col. Osborn witnessed history in 1989 while stationed in Germany when the Berlin Wall fell, and in 2001 while stationed in Washington, DC when terrorists attacked on 9/11. Her military awards include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, the Valorous Unit Award, and the U.S. Department of State Superior Honor Award.
Col. Osborn brings over two decades of trial experience as a prosecutor, litigation attorney, and military judge to her role as Military Judicial Fellow. With broad experience in training lawyers and judges, she serves on faculty at the National Judicial College, where she teaches general jurisdiction, military law and capital litigation to judges nationwide. Appointed to an eight-year term as a member of the Military Justice Review Panel, Col. Osborn works on the blue-ribbon commission chartered by Congress to conduct independent reviews of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. An active leader in the American Bar Association (ABA), she is a Past Chair of the National Conference of Specialized Court Judges and currently serves as an ABA Presidential appointee to the Judges’ Advisory Committee to the Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility. She has taught extensively for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the American Bar Association on the unique issues confronting judges in servicemember impaired driving cases.
Col. Osborn holds degrees from the University of South Carolina (B.A. and J.D.), the University of Virginia (M.P.A.), and the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s School (LL.M.), and a Professional Certificate in Judicial Development from the National Judicial College. She is admitted to practice law in South Carolina and before the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Col. Osborn divides her time between North Carolina and Washington, D.C.
Col. Osborn embarks on her role as ABA National Military Judicial fellow immediately and is anxious to work with others to affect safety on the roads. Remarking on her tasks ahead, Col. Osborn stated, “It’s such an incredible honor to be selected as the first ABA National Military Judicial Fellow. I look forward to working with judges, military commanders, and national traffic safety stakeholders to improve the administration of justice in impaired driving cases among this unique population. Together we can save lives and enhance the welfare and readiness of our nation’s fighting forces.”