I had to go to the bank, pet store, and commissary today so I stopped off to watch the arraignment. There was a standard R.C.M. 802 conference. The Army script was followed. LTC Lakin exercised his right to retain MAJ Kemkes and Mr. Jensen, and did not ask for IMC.…
Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog
LtCol Chessani
onenewsnow.com reports: The retiring Marine officer believes it was God’s will that the final board of inquiry ruled he must retire from the Marine Corps at the same rank. "I’m not glad about the way things ended, but I’m thankful that God closed the door on the Marine Corps for…
Military Human experiments?
The Boston Globe reports: The Department of Defense is investigating whether 80 wounded American service members in Iraq were improperly used as subjects in a test of a possible treatment for brain injuries, according to the Pentagon’s Office of Inspector General. In addition to the defense investigation, the US Navy…
Up periscope
Lot here today. Catching up after a contested trial at Fort Bragg. I’ll update the Lakin page after today’s “events.” Kate Wiltrout reports the retrial of Richard Mott at NOB, NorVA. Almost two years after a Navy judge found Seaman Richard Mott guilty of attempted premeditated murder and sentenced him…
Collateral consequences
Here is a piece from Kitsap Sun: A doctor who is being expelled from the Navy was charged by Kitsap County prosecutors Thursday with failing to register as a sex offender, according to attorneys familiar with the case. State law requires people convicted of certain sex crimes to register as…
Up periscope
Cleveland.com reports that: The Department of Defense announced Wednesday that President Barack Obama has nominated Lavelle to be reinstated to the rank of general, the highest in the armed forces. Lavelle died in 1979, seven years after he was forced to retire and was demoted to major general. A general…
Up periscope
Army Times reports that: President Obama has nominated a Cedar Rapids-based assistant U.S. attorney to serve as brigadier general in the Army Reserve and chief judge of the Army Court of Criminal Appeals.
Fricke dead, case still good law
Navy Times reports: A former Navy officer who was serving time for hiring someone to kill his wife was killed in a Kansas military prison a month before he was supposed to be released. Officials at Fort Leavenworth say 54-year-old former Navy Lt. Cmdr. Michael Fricke was beaten with a…
Some quick reminders about guilty pleas and such
There’s something for everyone out of a number of Navy and Coast Guard cases. Defense Counsel. When the military judge wrongly announces a sentence which will inure to your client’s benefit, generally you should keep you mouth shut. But, once you get the SJAR, double check the SJAR against the…
Up periscope
JURIST reports that: Spanish National Court Judge Santiago Pedraz issued an arrest warrant [text, in Spanish; PDF] Thursday for three US troops suspected of gunning down Spanish journalistJuse Couso [advocacy website, JURIST news archive] in Iraq. Couso, a television cameraman, was killed in 2003 when a US tank fired into…