George Webster Latimer (November 28, 1900 – May 3, 1990) was a Utah lawyer best known for representing Lt. William Calley Jr. in his court martial for the My Lai incident.
[1] During World War II, Latimer spent three years in the Pacific Theater with the Fortieth Infantry Division.
[4] In 1946, Latimer defeated incumbent Martin M. Larson to win election to the Utah Supreme Court,[8] and was sworn in for a 10-year term.
[6] In 1951, he resigned to accept an appointment by President Harry S. Truman to the newly formed U.S. Court of Military Appeals.
[4] Latimer was instrumental in interpreting the Uniform Code of Military Justice after it was adopted at the end of World War II.
A U.S. district judge eventually found that Calley’s military trial was conducted in a way that violated his constitutional rights.