Detention policy questioned after soldier’s escape By Steve Mraz and Seth Robbins, Stars and Stripes Mideast edition, Friday, August 28, 2009 Army officials are investigating how a Special Forces soldier was able to simply disappear last week, a few hours after his conviction for the kidnapping and sexual assault of…
Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog
Missed CAAF filing deadlines.
Readers will remember that there is a great deal of talk and decision making about cases where an appellant has failed to file his or her petition for review with CAAF in a timely manner. Here is a link to CAAFLog for a history of the discussions. CAAF determined that…
NMCCA’s cautionary text on indecent language prosecutions.
NMCAA’s decision in United States v. Johnson, NMCCA 200900141 (N.M. Ct. Crim. App. 25 August 2009), nicely sets out the courts view of when and how bad language is subject to prosecution as indecent. A totality of the circumstances factual and contextual test must be used it seems. The precise…
WT and discipline.
Soldiers recovering in special Army medical units have faced inconsistent discipline because the military hasn’t adopted standards for how they and their commanders should act, according to a military review. The review was ordered in March after The AP reported on Soldier complaints that officers were indifferent to their medical…
Recorded interrogations in the military
Following on the heels of NCIS’s recent testing of video-taping interrogations, it appears that OSI will start recording confessions. Starting on 1 October, Air Force OSI will, as a matter of policy, make a video recording of ”subject interviews.” Recording of witness and vicitm interviews will be optional. /tip CAAFLog.
“Discovery” disclosures are an ethical obligation, not just a legal requirement.
AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION STANDING COMMITTEE ON ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY Formal Opinion 09-454 July 8, 2009 Prosecutor’s Duty to Disclose Evidence and Information Favorable to the Defense Rule 3.8(d) of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct requires a prosecutor to “make timely disclosure to the defense. This ethical opinion reinforces…
Computer search excess.
Here is an interesting case from the 9th Circuit on computer searches. There may be some applicability here to military computer searches. The opinion is written by the well respected Judge Kosinski. CA9: Balco en banc: Computer search under Tamura not an excuse for a plain view; there has to…
Open (military) government.
There is an ongoing dispute about whether DoD is screening reporters who are allowed to embed in Afghanistan. The allegation is that there is or will be a preference for those who give favorable reports about the military. Here is the latest (as usual the DoD is at stage one…
Three new NMCCA decisions.
Sex Offender Registration
SOR seems to be a current topic, here is a new post from Prof. Yung: Another Free Exercise of Religion Issue for a Sex Offender These days, sex offenders can’t even go to church in some areas. Not long ago the State of Georgia enacted a law prohibiting sex offenders…