19-7-106. Office of state judge advocate.

(a) The adjutant general shall appoint a state judge advocate for the military department. The state judge advocate shall be an active member of the air or army national guard and shall serve as the legal counsel for the department. The state judge advocate may appoint such staff judge advocate officers as may be required and authorized by regulation.

(b) The state judge advocate shall be a member in good standing in the Wyoming state bar. All other staff judge advocate officers shall be members in good standing in a state bar. Each staff judge advocate officer shall be qualified as a judge advocate pursuant to the regulations of the staff judge advocate officer's respective United States army or air force component.

(c) The state judge advocate and staff judge advocate officers who have been admitted to the Wyoming state bar and are in good standing with the bar may be appointed by the Wyoming attorney general as special assistant attorneys general for the purpose of representing the Wyoming military department before the courts of the state and nation. Appointment shall not constitute a conflict of interest in the officer s nonmilitary practice of law as to any litigation in which another agency of the state is a party in interest. Judge advocate officers appointed special assistant attorneys general shall also be authorized to bring and prosecute, in the name of the state, criminal complaints against members of the Wyoming national guard relating to violations of the State Code of Military Justice, in any of the courts of this state.