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Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog

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Worth the Read on military prosecutors

A friend brought to my attention this little item for our weekend reading. NOTES: PROSECUTORIAL POWER AND THE LEGITIMACY OF THE MILITARY JUSTICE SYSTEM. 123 HARVARD L. REV. 937 (2010). Is the concluding paragraph correct? The modern military justice system suggests an alternative model of institutional design: it emerged as a…

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Yes, Denedo, there really are collateral consequences

Since Denedo, and definitely since Padilla, military defense counsel must tell a client about the potential for deportation. A former U.S. Marine from Jamaica who was convicted by special court-martial of having sex with a girl younger than 16 is eligible for deportation, the Third Circuit ruled. Gurson Gourzong, a…

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In Canada, sexual misconduct is inappropriate-is it?

The National Post (Canada) reports: The Canadian Forces has distributed 120,000 wallet-size cards to military personnel to remind them that sexual assault is an “inappropriate” behaviour. The cards are to be carried by military staff on the job, including when they are sent overseas. But a critic of how the Canadian…

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In China they devalue currency. In the U.S. military they devalue your rights?

On 20 May 2016, the President, exercising his powers under UCMJ art. 36, signed an executive order amending the Manual for Courts-Martial.  Changes to the rules of evidence are included.  It was a change to Rule 311 that has draw significant attention and discussion among the UCMJ literati.  Basically, a military judge…

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Is the “victim” a “party” to the proceeding so that MRE 801(d)(2) applies to her

Yes, is my answer, or at least that is my answer in a brief filed with the Army Court of Criminal Appeals and in several arguments at court-martial. Under Mil. R. Evid. 801(2), you can offer the out of court statements of an opposing party or certain statements of that…

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Subject to interpretation–WTR

Worth the read is a pending Supreme Court petition that may have impact on military cases. Issue: Whether the Confrontation Clause permits the prosecution to introduce an out-of-court, testimonial translation, without making the translator available for confrontation and cross-examination. That is the issue in Ye v. United States, a history…

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