There has been something of a stir recently about jurors texting and twittering while court is in session. Here another interesting tale of the kind of shenanigans civilian jurors get up to. We first consider Basham's argument that the district court should have granted his motion for a new trial…
Thanks to CAAFLog for this link to the Air ForceTimes article on Colonel Murphy's conviction by a members panel. Here's an ABA article, same theme. Stephanie Francis Ward, Catch Me if You Can, ABA Journal Magazine online, April 2009.
Many accused, with halting eloquence, effectively demonstrate remorse and plead for leniency, while others squander the opportunity by engaging in malevolent recriminations and remorseless refusals to accept responsibility. The wisdom or folly that an accused evinces in deciding what to say in an unsworn statement does not diminish his or…
ACCA issued published opinion today finding error and granting relief in United States v. Amazaki, ARMY 20070676 (A. Ct. Crim. App. March 31, 2009). We hold, as a matter of due process, appellant was not on fair notice that his conduct, arising from simply negligent possession of child pornography, violated…
This case could be very helpful to an accused overseas where the prosecution lets witnesses go PCS or off active duty prior to trial, with the idea that the deposition or Article 32, UCMJ, hearing testimony could be used. Note, this case doesn't talk about MLAT's. The government’s minimal efforts…
Here is the NMCCA en banc opinion in United States v. Neal, __ M.J. ___ NMCCA 200800746 (N-M Ct. Crim. App. March 31, 2009) .
The Supreme Court has decided Rivera v. Illinois. Justice Ginsburg wrote for a unanimous court. This case concerns the consequences of a state trial court’s erroneous denial of a defendant’s peremptory challenge to the seating of a juror in a criminal case. If all seated jurors are qualified and unbiased,…
Courtesy of FederalEvidence blog we have an update on Giles. In Giles v. California [documents at SCOTUSWiki], the Supreme Court [Giles the opinion] considered the application of the forfeiture by wrongdoing exception under the Confrontation Clause and likely Crawford v. Washington, which allows an unconfronted testimonial statement to be admitted…
Here is the most recent Supreme Court case on IAC claims and evaluation of them. Knowles v. Mirazanyance, ___ U.S. ___ (March 24, 2009). In this case the appellant sought to convince the courts that his counsel's failure to advance a defense was ineffective. The issue revolves around the existence…
A change to Fed. R. Crim. Pro. recently adopted reminds me of a motion I file from time to time after the member's have found my client guilty, or at the time the military judge asks if there is anything else before adjourning the court — that's a Griffith motion. …