SEATTLE — Denied a chance to debate the legality of the Iraq war in court, 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, an Army officer who refused to leave for Iraq, now goes to trial hoping to at least minimize the amount of time he could serve if convicted.

The case has drawn national attention since Watada, who was born in Hawai'i and is a 1996 Kalani High School graduate, announced in June that he would refuse to go to Iraq with his unit, the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.

Now the 28-year-old Watada faces four years in prison if convicted on one count of missing movement and two counts of conduct unbecoming an officer. His court-martial is set to begin tomorrow at Fort Lewis, south of Seattle.

Since concluding the war is illegal, Watada has publicly spoken out against the U.S. occupation in Iraq, calling it "not only morally wrong but a horrible breach of American law" in a video statement released at a June 7 news conference.

Charges later filed against the soldier did little to quell his actions. In August he spoke at a Veterans for Peace rally in Seattle, in which he again criticized the war.

Watada and his Honolulu attorney, Eric Seitz, contend his comments are protected speech, but they drew fire from Army prosecutors who argued that Watada's behavior was dangerous to the mission and morale of soldiers in Iraq.

During previous court hearings in the case, Seitz has unsuccessfully sought an opportunity to argue the legality of the war, saying it violated Army regulations that specify wars are to be waged in accordance with the United Nations charter.

Their final attempt was quashed following a hearing last month in which military judge Lt. Col. John Head ruled Watada cannot base his defense on the war's legality. He also refused claims that Watada's statements were protected by the First Amendment, saying that would be up to a military panel.

Last week the government dropped two misconduct charges against Watada in exchange for his admitting to making statements to freelance journalists.

As part of the agreement reached Monday, several reporters who had been issued subpoenas to appear before the court-martial will not have to testify, the lawyer said.

"Our part of the deal is that we're going to agree to what they (the journalists) would have said, essentially," Seitz said.

Seitz said he and Watada rejected a plea deal that would have resulted in the equivalency of a dishonorable discharge and an 18-month prison term for the 28-year-old soldier.

Eugene Fidell, president of the National Institute of Military Justice in Washington, D.C., said he wasn't surprised that the government was pressing its case and going through with the trial.

"He missed a movement of his unit," he said. "No army can tolerate officers refusing to move with their unit."