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…
Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog
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…
A new MEJA prosecution
Military.com reports that: A former U.S. Army contractor was arrested today in Newport News, Va., for allegedly killing one sailor and seriously injuring another in a vehicular collision in Kuwait[.] Hanks is charged under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA), a statute that gives U.S. courts jurisdiction to prosecute crimes…
Newby decided at CGCCA
United States v. Newby has been decided and has a reminder for trial defense counsel. The military judge made a clemency recommendation. The SJAR failed to note the clemency recommendation. The TDC failed to comment on the SJAR failure. Phew! And here’s why. Before this court, Appellant has assigned as…
Nerad decided at CAAF
CAAF has issued an opinion in United States v. Nerad. RYAN, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which EFFRON, C.J., and ERDMANN, J., joined. BAKER, J., filed a separate opinion concurring in the result. STUCKY, J., filed a separate dissenting opinion. Nerad gets a remand to AFCCA for…
Collateral consequences
Thanks (again) to CAAFLog for finding a case relating to collateral consequences — Moutrie v. Secretary of the Army, __ F. Supp. 2d __, No. CV 09-4456-SVC (RC) (C.D. Cal. July 7, 2010). Up until, oh I don’t remember the date now, but quite a number of years ago, a…
USS Indianapolis
The News-Gazette reports an excerpt from the Congressional Record about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the subsequent court-martial of the commanding officer for the loss of his ship. The ship was sunk on 30 July 1945. The ultimate (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.–(1) It is the sense of Congress,…
Up periscope
I previously posted about this but here is a more detailed Navy Times report about CSM Crump, formerly of WRAMC. A former command sergeant major at Walter Reed Army Medical Center fired for allegedly faking his record and wearing unauthorized awards and decorations faces military discipline for a series of…
Up periscope 55
News8 reports that: In a court martial trial that concluded after a panel’s deliberations stretched into the early hours of Saturday morning at Andrews Joint Base, a local Airman First Class was found not guilty of the charges brought against him. As ABC 7 News reported last week, the charges…