Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog

Pennsylvania Public Defenders Rebel Against Crushing Caseloads. [Washington] Supreme Court Adopts Standards for Indigent Defense:  Case Limit Guidelines Effective in 2013.

SBS has been subject to significant criticism, so the “experts” have changed it’s name to Abusive Head Trauma.  But does a name change mean that the “syndrome” or “diagnosis” is any more real? Shaken Baby Syndrome, Abusive Head Trauma, and Actual Innocence: Getting It Right Keith A. Findley University of…

Now that the current slew of confrontation cases are decided it’s time to regroup. Let’s start with my former evidence professor, Paul Gianelli (a former Army JA). Confrontation, Experts, and Rule 703 Paul C. Giannelli Case Western Reserve University – School of Law 20 J.L. & Pol’y 443 (2012) Case…

In Faison v. Belcher, a prisoner at the USDB sought to get the federal district court in Kansas to grant a habeas for several issues, including a Fosler issue.

From my very first opinion on this Court, I have consistently concluded that Mil.R.Evid. 410 must be applied broadly to be consistent with its purpose. United States v. Barunas, 23 M.J. 71, 75-76 (CMA 1986). See also Fed.R.Evid. 410. Speaking for the Court in Barunas, I said: The general purpose…

NOTE:  “If you Have a Zero-Tolerance Policy, Why Aren’t You Doing Anything?: Using the Uniform Code of Military Justice to Combat Human Trafficking Abroad, 80 Geo Wash L. Rev. 1255 (2012).

There are a number of resources available to counsel for research beyond what is in the red book. The National Criminal Justice Reference Service is just one:  https://www.ncjrs.gov/ Thanks to a colleague for pointing out a new publication that may assist the defense in particular. DNA for the Defense Bar,…

There have been discussions from time to time how convening authorities refer odd-ball or arguably frivolous cases to trial. Who’s Guarding the Henhouse? How the American Prosecutor Came to Devour Those He is Sworn to Protect Jonathan Rapping Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School June 10, 2012 Washburn Law Journal, Vol.…

As we all know the military does not have the nolo contendre or Alford plea.  Thanks to Prof. Berman at Sentencing Law & Policy, here is an intriguing study.  If you go back many years you will see reflections of the Milgram experiments, and the other experiments that turned college…

Applying Crawford’s Confrontation Right in a Digital Age Jeffrey Bellin Southern Methodist University – Dedman School of Law May 10, 2012 Abstract: Much of the recent commentary on the Confrontation Clause focuses on the past. Commentators (and Supreme Court Justices) evaluate the evolving jurisprudence by comparing the confrontation right articulated…