American Chronicle reports that Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) has proposed legislation called the Terrorist Detainees Procedures Act. Here is the link to H.R. 1315. Here is a link to the congressman's Guantanamo Detainees Procedures Act of 2005.
Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog
Bluebook Online.
Yes, the Bluebook is now online, with yes, a paid subscription. A new annual subscription is $25.00. Subsequent annual renewals are $15.00. Subscriptions of up to three years may be purchased at the current rate. Here are the free "Bluebooks" from the military appellate courts. Air Force.Army.Coast-Guard.Navy-Marine Corps.Court of Appeals…
Ethics, prosecutorial discretion, and 800lb G.
Melanie D. Wilson, Finding a Happy and Ethical Medium Between a Prosecutor Who Believes the Defendant Didn't Do It and the Boss Who Says That He Did, 103 Nw. U. L. Rev. Colloquy 65 (2008). The trial counsel (prosecutor)[n.1] works for the SJA, the SJA works for and advises the…
More on uniformity in NG.
Here's a link to attorney Bridget Wilson's article on the model state code of military justice for the National Guard, that is available on NIMJ's website. BRIDGET J. WILSON, MODEL STATE CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE FOR THE NATIONAL GUARD NOT IN FEDERAL SERVICE, Justice for the Military's Minotaurs 6/6/2007. tip: …
Model State Code of Military Justice.
In 2003, Congress directed the Secretary of Defense to produce a Model State Code of Military Justice. This Code is intended to be adopted by all of the states for use when dealing with misconduct by personnel in Title 32 status. The idea is to try and have a "uniform"…
MEJA alive and well.
In addition to action under MEJA involving contractors in Iraq, a civilian spouse in Okinawa is headed for a U.S. District Court trial for the death of his stepson on Okinawa. David Allen, Accused stepdad awaits transfer, Stars &Stripes, 6 March 2009. The Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act of 2000The MEJA…
Lost motions and next moves.
In writing a piece this weekend I came across this excellent article by Pat Grant on Extraordinary Relief, it's worth reading and filing in your trial notebook. Captain Patrick B. Grant, ARTICLE: Extraordinary Relief: A Primer for Trial Practitioners, 2008 Army Law. 30 (November, 2008).
Compelling Access To Encrypted Laptop
Fifth Amendment Privilege was not violated by compelling the defendant to provide an unencrypted version of his laptop drive containing suspected child pornography to the government, in In re Boucher, (D.Vt. Feb. 19, 2009) (No. 2:06-mj-91) (2009 WL 424718) (unpublished) (“Boucher II“) Can the government compel an individual to provide…
Voice authentication.
Prof. Colin Miller has posted on how to and who may authenticate a persons voice, Follow My Voice: Seventh Circuit Finds That Voice Authentication Doesn't Need To Be Done By An Expert. Federal Rule of Evidence 901(b)(5), which states that the requirement of authentication or identification as a condition precedent…
New Army Lawyer
The February Army Lawyer is on-line. There are four articles of interest to military practitioner's. 2008 New Developments in Self-Incrimination New Developments in Sixth Amendment Confrontation and Jurisdiction Building a Better Mousetrap or Just a More Convoluted One?:A Look at Three Major Developments in Substantive Criminal Law “Planning is Everything”…