Franklin Bell and Colonel Jacob H. Smith having carried out similar executions on a much larger scale months before with no subsequent investigations. Waller was tried for murder in ordering the execution of the eleven Filipino porters. A court martial began on March 17, 1902. The court-martial board consisted of 7 Army officers and 6 Marine Corps officers, led by U.S. Army General William H. Bisbee. Major Henry P. Kingsbury, USA, the prosecutor, read the charge and specification. Waller's attorneys, Commander Adolph Marix, USN, and Major Edwin Glenn, USA, first argued, unsuccessfully, that the Army had no jurisdiction over him, as he was still under Marine Corps command. From the court martial transcript: General Bisbee decided that the court was without jurisdiction in the case, but left open the possibility of reversing himself if instructions were received from the office of the Adjutant General of the Army. On 21 March, the instructions arrived. The Assistant Adjutant General noted that the Commanding General of the Philippine Department (General Arthur MacArthur) had ordered a preliminary examination of the case, with a view to legal action, before Waller was relieved of duty with the Army. Waller assisted in Major Getty's investigation, and was questioned by him, so he had to know that he was a party to the proceedings. Besides, a "brief lapse of jurisdiction" cannot mitigate a murder charge. General Bisbee "now decides that (the court) has jurisdiction and directs that the case proceed to trial." Waller enters his plea: To the specification – Guilty, except to the words "willfully and feloniously and with malice aforethought, murder and" – to those words, not guilty. To the charge – Not Guilty Waller did not use Smith's orders "I want all persons killed" to justify his deed, instead relying on the rules of war and provisions of a Civil War General Order Number 100 that authorized "exceeding force", much as J. Franklin Bell had successfully done months before. Waller's counsel had rested his defense. The prosecution then decided to call General Smith as a rebuttal witness. On April 7, 1902, in sworn testimony, Smith denied that he had given any special verbal orders to Waller. Waller then produced three officers, who corroborated Waller's version of the Smith–Waller conversation, and copies of every written order he had received from Smith, Waller informed the court he had been directed to take no prisoners and to kill