In late summer 2014, my client and another were accused of conspiring with each other and committing sexual assaults on a single complaining witness. The events were alleged to have happened at a party at a local hotel. As the investigation progressed six others were implicated in an alleged group…
Let’s take a look at United States v. Criswell, a case decided by the Army adverse to the appellant, and now pending review at CAAF, on the following issue. No. 18-0091/AR. U.S. v. Andrew J. Criswell. CCA 20150530. On consideration of the petition for grant of review of the decision of the United…
When the Congress, the media, and commanders called for a crackdown on military sexual assaults, the fear among the defense bar was the specter of unlawful command influence. Most of the cases have focussed on pretrial and post-trial. But the biggest fear was realized in United States v. Schloff, a…
Why Military Courts Won’t Prevent The Next Texas Church Shooting, in Stars & Stripes, repeated in Task & Purpose. Former airman Devin P. Kelley had choked his wife and put a gun to her head. He’d fractured her baby’s skull. He’d made threats to his commanders and he’d been committed to a mental hospital.…
The USS Cole case judge Wednesday found the Marine general in charge of war court defense teams guilty of contempt for refusing to follow his orders and sentenced him to 21 days confinement and to pay a $1,000 fine. Air Force Col. Vance Spath also declared “null and void” a…
The Navy actions regarding the collisions of USS FITZGERALD and USS MCCAIN are starting to come more into focus. Here is a summary report from the Navy of some of the investigations. Here is the appointment of a Central Disposition Authority for disciplinary actions related to the collisions. A timeline…
Black sailors more likely than white sailors to be referred to court-martial, report says Brock Vergakis, The Virginian-Pilot, 7 June 2017. The VP summarizes: Black sailors were 40 percent more likely than white sailors to be referred to a court-martial over a two-year period examined by an advocacy group that…
Military Times is reporting–House lawmakers Wednesday overwhelmingly passed new rules making the secret recording or unauthorized sharing of nude photos a crime under military law, in response to the Marine Corps United scandal earlier this year. Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) this week will introduce legislation meant to fight nonconsensual sharing…
so starts a post at wrongfulconvictionsblog–Junk Science Reigns ____ So Much for True Science in the Courtroom. [W]hen the National Academy of Sciences report Forensic Science in the United States; A Path Forward was published people thought we might see a true effort to address “junk science being used to convict innocent people.”…
The Washington Post has an article by Orin Kerr on a report in the New York Times about a bill introduced in Congress to change or clarify the “mens rea” required in federal criminal statutes. I probably should not comment on where the proposal may have come from. It is proposed…