Should military veterans get a break when they are sentenced for crimes? Asks a piece in the Wall Street Journal. This is interesting in light of some discussion on CAAFLog about sentencing in court-martial and sentence ranges under the UCMJ. Seems some civilian judges are more interested in giving a…
A former commander in the Tennessee State Guard has lost an appeal to overturn his conviction for trying to provide his soldiers with homemade machine guns for possible use in defending the state. At trial and in his appeal, Mr. Hamblen argued that he and his soldiers had a Second…
Army Maj. Gen. Charles Cleveland has responded to a letter that challenges the handling of a case against three Navy SEALs accused of mishandling a suspected terrorist. In the Dec. 15 letter, addressed to Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., Cleveland essentially refuses to drop the charges against the three men. "While…
David Vincent Weber arrived last month at a Ramona Veterans of Foreign Wars event in style: two stars on his shoulder and two Purple Heart medals pinned on the front of a Marine Corps uniform. Weber, 69, appeared in a federal courtroom in downtown San Diego yesterday with considerably less…
Discovery obligations apply to court-martial motions practice, for example when there is to be a suppression hearing. The government has a mandatory duty to disclose evidence in its possession that is favorable to the defense, "either because it was exculpatory or of impeachment value . . . ." . The…
A man accused of posing as a Marine major general at a Veterans of Foreign Wars party in Ramona to celebrate the birthday of the Marine Corps was arraigned Wednesday on a federal misdemeanor charge of making false claims about military decorations or medals. San Diego News Network reports.
The family of Evan Vela, an imprisoned former soldier from Parker, is expressing gratitude for a Christmas donation to his wife and children. The donation came about through efforts by a national organization to support soldiers accused of crimes related to the war on terrorism. reports Standard Journal.
State Department investigators say Chief Engineman (SW) Arturo Puente at Jacksonville’s Mayport Naval Station has used a false name for the last 22 years while working at U.S. embassies in Rome and Panama, according to the Florida Times-Union newspaper. Navy Times reports. No indications of a court-martial or any UCMJ…
Here is Randy Wilson’s letter to his children about being a trial lawyer. His thoughts are equally applicable to both sides in a court-martial. Two of my children decided to go to law school. One just passed the bar exam, and the other is in the third year of law…
Federal law should govern a federal NCIS search on a military base for evidence of a murder of a civilian employee on the base that ends up prosecuted in state court. The court finds that this is a narrow issue in this case. The security search of defendant’s car on…