The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals considers a conviction of “housebreaking,” under Article 130, UCMJ, to be a crime of violence for firearms possession charges in federal district court. We frequently are asked by clients if they can still own a firearm. The answer is a very nuanced one, as…
Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog
Major Hasan update
The military will formally discipline at least six officers, most from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, for failing to take action against Fort Hood gunman Nidal Malik Hasan, according to people familiar with the matter. Officials said the move reflects the military’s belief that the Nov. 5 assault…
Crawford, Melendez-Diaz, Briscoe – and now Pendergrass v. Indiana
Here is a link to the full cert petition in Pendergrass v. Indiana. The question presented is: Whether the Confrontation Clause permits the prosecution to introduce testimonial statements of a nontestifying forensic analyst through the in-court testimony of a supervisor or other person who did not perform or observe the…
Breaking news on Breaker Morant
Remember those NJS days, and at other military justice seminars – scenes from Breaker Morant (the movie), and discussion. A PETITION for the pardon of Harry ”Breaker” Morant and Peter Handcock, Australian soldiers executed by the British for the murder of prisoners in the dying days of the Boer War,…
Major Hasan update
(No pun intended.) The Army said Monday it has appointed an investigating officer for an Article 32 hearing, which will determine if there is sufficient evidence to proceed with a court-martial for Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who’s charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder in the deadly shooting rampage on…
Interview techniques
The Reid Technique is one of the more known and familiar interrogation and interview techniques used by law enforcement. We mostly become familiar with interrogation methods because of court-martial pretrial motions practice to suppress coerced or false confessions. The value of various police interrogation techniques is not limited to police…
Stolen Valor update
Question, if he served at least three years in the Army, and he left active duty as a PFC, is it not likely that he was disciplined at some point and reduced in rank? With the aid of Maggies Farm (Stolen Honor as a Pick-up Line?), Moonbattery, (Captain Chinpubes below…
Stolen Valor update
I noted earlier that some accused of violating the Stolen Valor Act are challenging it’s constitutionality in situations where the person was a braggart, but did not gain or attempt to gain through the fraud. Here is a new case of someone who likely did gain – a city job?…
Up periscope – WE 070210
Not going too far, how about you? Meanwhile – – – A Robins Air Force Base master sergeant was dishonorably discharged and sentenced to 50 years in prison after he was found guilty of engaging in sexual contact with several minors, according to The Robins Rev-Up, the Robins Air Force…
USMC CM tracking
Here is a link to MARADMIN 062/10, Implementation of Case Management System for Courts-Martial.