A Naval Academy midshipman is scheduled to be court-martialed Tuesday at the Navy Yard in Washington on theft and related charges, the school announced Friday. Midshipman 1st Class Julia Kaelberer, of Rialto, Calif., has accepted a plea agreement and will face charges of theft, unlawful entry, making false official statements…
Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog
Now what
The US Marine acquitted on appeal in a high-profile rape case has left the Philippines, but he could face court martial in the US, officials said. "Following the decision of the Philippine Court of Appeals, Daniel Smith departed the Philippines under the authority of United States military officials," the US…
More on Arizona v. Gant
Prof. Colin Miller, Coming Out of the Closet: How Arizona v. Gant Could Lead to the Shrinking of the Scope of Searches Incident to Lawful Home Arrests, 24 April 2009.
Honor Graduate
At 08.20, 24 April 2009, CAPT Kevin J. Barry, USCG (Ret.) became an honor graduate of life. His death is a loss not just to his family and friends but to the military justice community as a whole. Kevin worked hard and long as an advocate for his clients, for…
Important Supreme Court decision
Here is the 21 April 2009 Supreme Court decision in Arizona v. Gant. Basically it limits the scope of a warrantless car search. In the course of its decision the court did not overrule New York v. Belton, 453 U. S. 454 (1981), but concluded Belton was misunderstood and misapplied.…
Discovery of “confidential” information
D.C. Circuit remands case for district court to determine which company records, including from an internal investigation, were material to the defendant’s defense “and to protect against the public disclosure of material documents in a manner consistent with Thompson’s right to a fair trial,” in United States v. Thompson, __…
Searching cell phones
Here is a good article in the FBI LEB. M. Wesley Clark, Searching Cell Phones Seized Incident to Arrest, 78(2) FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 25 (Feb. 2009).
Crawford stuff
One of the most potentially influential Supreme Court decisions for trial practitioners is still pending a decision – Melendez-Diaz. This is the issue of forensic reports as testimonial under Crawford. The betting appears to be that it will be a mind-blower written by Justice Scalia. On 6 April 2009, Professor…
The Army Lawyer is out
Army Lawyer, March 2009.
Alcohol in sexual assault cases
I take some back, almost. Again I was looking at the NKO Criminal Law Division’s practice tips and I came across this one dealing with the ““Blackout” defense to alcohol facilitated sexual assault.” No, it’s not. This title implies that the accused has deliberately gotten the complaining witness drunk. This…