Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog

Yes, I got my copy of the NIJ Journal, so here’s another interesting article available on the web.  Solving the Problem of Untested Evidence in Sexual Assaults, by Nancy Ritter.

The National Institute of Justice has now put The Fingerprint Sourcebook, by the Scientific Working Group on Friction Ridge Analysis, Study and Technology (SWGFAST), et al., March 2011, Chapters 1, 4 – 8,  10 – 13, and 14 – 15 on line.  It appears that the remaining chapters will be…

Military.com reports: Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus said April 27 that the spate of firings of senior officers involves only a small portion of the commanding officer corps and doesn’t hint at a wider problem across the fleet. . . . [this fosters accountability] . . . “Since 2005,…

The National Law Journal has this piece:  Head in the sand over prosecutorial misconduct. The Supreme Court has sent a disturbing message that it just doesn’t realize there is a serious problem infecting our criminal justice system.

EvidenceProf blog reports on Commonwealth v. Patterson, 2011 WL 1520025 (Mass.App.Ct. 2011). It is not very often that a defendant claims that a criminal prosecution violated both his Second Amendment and Sixth Amendment rights, but that was exactly the case in Commonwealth v. Patterson, 2011 WL 1520025 (Mass.App.Ct. 2011). Here’s…

Yes, I know we’re all tired about hearing of this case, but: Washington Wire reports: The White House today posted on its blog a copy of President Barack Obama’slong form birth certificate from the State of Hawaii, along with copies of an April 22, 2011 letter from Mr. Obama’s lawyer…

Outside the Wire reports:  A spate of high-profile violent crimes committed by Fort Drum, N.Y. soldiers,  is being blamed on an increase in population and not combat stress, the Watertown Times reports. Navy Times reports:  Naval Medical Center San Diego admitted 15 sailors over a five-month period last year for…

Here is the January edition of Army Lawyer. Simplifying Discovery and Production: Using Easy Frameworks to Evaluate the 2009 Term of Cases Researching Current and Historical Legislation Using THOMAS

CAAF has issued its opinion in United States v. Beaty. Basically the court holds that the maximum punishment for possession of child pornography in cartoon, virtual, or anything other than real life is four months and a similar term in forfeitures.  The federal statute does not criminalize such conduct therefore…

When arguing for admission of MRE412 evidence, counsel should make sure the MJ knows she can give a limiting instruction.  And for that matter trial counsel should definitely ask for one.  The appellate courts regularly approve of limiting instructions when it’s the accused having bad evidence or erroneous evidence introduced…