E. Samuel, An Historical Account of the British Army: And of the Law Military, as Declared by the Ancient and Modern Statutes, and Articles of War for Its Government with a Free Commentary on the Mutiny Act, and the Rules and Articles of War; Illustrated by Various Decisions of Courts…
There are two items from Canada that are worth the read. Marie Deschamps, C.C. Ad.E., External Review Authority, External Review into Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Harassment in the Canadian Armed Forces, March 27, 2015. Under the standard articulated by Criminal Code and the Supreme Court of Canada, genuine consent may be communicated…
No. 15-0330/AR. U.S. v. Kenneth A.R. Pinkela. CCA 20120649. On consideration of the petition for grant of review of the decision of the United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals, it is ordered that said petition is hereby granted on the following issue: WHETHER THE EVIDENCE WAS LEGALLY SUFFICIENT TO…
The Washington Post has a report today: The Justice Department and FBI have formally acknowledged that nearly every examiner in an elite FBI forensic unit gave flawed testimony in almost all trials in which they offered evidence against criminal defendants over more than a two-decade period before 2000. Of 28…
Under the “old” Article 32, the right to call and examine witnesses and to obtain production (discovery) of evidence was pretty robust. All Services except the Air Force and Coast Guard routinely recorded the audio of the hearing. That audio could then be transcribed into a verbatim transcript. The benefit to…
On today’s CAAF daily journal we find: No. 15-0172/MC. U.S. v. Francis L. Captain. CCA 201300137. On consideration of the petition for grant of review of the decision of the United States Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals, it is ordered that said petition is hereby granted on the following…
[D]istrict courts generally enjoy a fair amount of discretion in choosing the procedures they find most helpful for resolving pretrial motions, including whether to take the matter on the briefs, hear oral argument, or hold an evidentiary hearing. And often enough courts will choose to err on the side of granting more process than…
Marquette University Law School will host oral arguments for the court martial appeal of a U.S. Air Force sergeant accused of sexually assaulting two girls and endangering his baby son. So says the Wisconsin Bar Journal. Here is an link to a preview by a colleague. I will be appearing…
The question is often asked of me–can we win on appeal, will the appellate courts give a fair hearing and review. In United States v. Soto, the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals (AFCCA) reviewed the factual sufficiency of appellant’s conviction for rape and any lesser included offenses. A military judge…
A sophisticated employer knows how to interpret the numbers and language in the DD214. The codes are easily findable on the internet. This creates an issue with coding for early separation due to draw-down measures. So the following came over the transom. DD 214 SEPARATION PROGRAM DESIGNATOR NARRATIVE The DD…