Civilian attorneys for eight Camp Pendleton men accused of murdering an Iraqi civilian in April said Tuesday that military lawyers assigned to assist their clients have been too busy to provide much help on the cases.

The seven Marines and one Navy corpsman have hired civilian attorneys in addition to being assigned military counsel, the latter of whom are said to be bogged down with large caseloads.

"(It's) the issue of the moment, one which prompted a scream from me this weekend," Carlsbad-based attorney David Brahms, a retired Marine general hired to represent Lance Cpl. Robert Pennington, said Tuesday. "The government proudly proclaims that they have given each of the eight (accused men) two military counsel.

"It's a bit illusory because neither of the counsel offered to me have the time to do anything."

Brahms said the two military defense attorneys are well-qualified and eager to assist. But one of the men, Brahms said, is a Miramar-based Marine with about 30 other cases on his plate. The other is based in Rhode Island and is in the middle of moving his family to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

Jane Siegel, one of two private attorneys hired to represent Pfc. John Jodka III, an Encinitas native, said the lack of help thus far could affect their ability to defend the men against a team of what she said were top-flight military prosecutors.

"It is ridiculous to say that there is equity in counsel," Siegel said. "There are five experienced prosecutors with nothing else to do, sitting in offices and working these cases, and we are still in the starting blocks waiting (for the assigned attorneys to be made available)."

Marine Corps spokesman Lt. Col. Sean Gibson said he could not comment on the attorneys' complaints.

The Marine Corps last month charged the men with premeditated murder, kidnapping, conspiracy and other charges for allegedly dragging 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad out of his home in the Iraqi village of Hamdania on April 26, binding his hands and feet, placing him in a hole and shooting him. They could face the death penalty if convicted.

They are also accused of placing a shovel and rifle next to the man to make him appear to be an insurgent planting a roadside bomb.

The next step in the military's judicial process is an Article 32 hearing to determine if the cases should move forward to trial.

In addition to Jodka and Pennington, the accused men are Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III, Cpl. Marshall Magincalda, Cpl. Trent Thomas, Lance Cpl. Tyler Jackson, Lance Cpl. Jerry Shumate, and Hospitalman 3rd Class Melson Bacos. All are members of Kilo Company from the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment.

Siegel, a retired Marine colonel, said that one of the military attorneys assigned to assist in Jodka's case is a reservist who is not slated to return to duty until Aug. 1.

No firm date for the Article 32 hearings has been set, Gibson said, adding that he was uncertain how the sessions would be sequenced. The hearings will determine if their clients will face trial.

Attorney Victor Kelley, representing Thomas, said he believed that about half of the hearings could get pushed back to September because of the defense work that remains to be done.

Siegel also said that she and her co-counsel, Joseph Casas, would like to delay the hearings until they can speak with witnesses from the men's battalion.

A preliminary autopsy report Siegel said she received was for an exam June 8, nearly seven weeks after Awad died. That report, she said, noted "severe decomposition" as well as "a lot of bullet wounds."

She also said the report makes no mention of anything related to bruising or marks from the alleged binding of Awad's hands and feet.

The report also makes no estimation of the distance from which the shots were fired, and there is no indication if Awad's clothing was examined for gunshot residue, she said.

Siegel also said the military had turned over log sheets showing Jodka was interrogated three times in Iraq, including a session May 18 that lasted seven hours.

There are no transcripts of those interviews, Siegel said, because military investigators did not use audio- or videotape to preserve the interviews.

The accused men were all detained in Iraq on May 12, and then moved to the Camp Pendleton brig, where they have been held since May 24.

In order to accommodate a large number of reporters expected to cover the hearings and any subsequent trials if ordered, Camp Pendleton is renovating an open-air facility on the base. Seats and lighting are being installed and audio and video of the proceedings will be broadcast via closed-circuit onto a large screen.

A small number of reporters will be allowed into the courtroom.

- Staff writer Mark Walker contributed to this report. Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 631-6624 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com. To comment, go to nctimes.com.