Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Michael Mulligan is a retired prosecutor in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

notable for serving as the lead prosecutor in the courts-martial of

Hasan Akbar ''United States v. Hasan K. Akbar'' was the court-martial of a United States Army soldier for a premeditated attack in the early morning hours of March 23, 2003, at Camp Pennsylvania, Kuwait, during the start of the United States invasion of Iraq. ...

and of Nidal Malik Hasan, the sole accused in the November

2009 Fort Hood shooting On November 5, 2009, a mass shooting took place at Fort Hood, near Killeen, Texas. Nidal Hasan, a U.S. Army major and psychiatrist, fatally shot 13 people and injured more than 30 others. It was the deadliest mass shooting on an American mi ...

Early life

The son of a trucking company manager, Michael Mulligan was born in

Niagara Falls, New York Niagara Falls is a City (New York), city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city had a total population of 48,671. It is adjacent to the Niagara River, across from the city of Niagara ...

and grew up in

Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is on the western bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, with a population of 88,071 at the 2016 census. It is part of the St. Catharines - Niagara Census M ...

. He enjoyed playing hockey, and played as a left winger in college at SUNY Oswego. After graduating, he played professionally in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

from 1981 to 1983. He subsequently returned to the United States and attended the

University of Tulsa College of Law The University of Tulsa College of Law is the law school of the private University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. For 2021, ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranked the University of Tulsa College of Law at No. 111 among all law schools in the United S ...

, graduating in 1988. He worked briefly as an assistant district attorney in

Tulsa County Tulsa County is located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 669,279, making it the second-most populous county in Oklahoma, behind only Oklahoma County. Its county seat and largest city is Tulsa, the secon ...

before joining the

Career

In the Army, Mulligan returned to Germany, where he worked as a deputy and staff judge advocate. After returning to the United States, he served as head of the Criminal Law Division at Fort Hood. As a military prosecutor, Mulligan led the 2005

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

, a soldier ultimately convicted of murdering two of his fellow soldiers at the beginning of the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

. He was also appointed lead prosecutor in the court-martial of Nidal Malik Hasan, the sole accused in the November

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mulligan, Michael American men's ice hockey left wingers Ice hockey players from New York (state) Judge Advocates General of the United States Army Living people Oswego Lakers men's ice hockey players Sportspeople from Niagara Falls, New York United States Army officers University of Tulsa College of Law alumni Year of birth missing (living people)