Prof. Colin Miller has an interesting post about prosecutorial discretion during the course of trial. Besides getting a conviction and an appropriate sentence, a secondary gain of the prosecutor is to have the case affirmed on appeal. Affirmance means a guilty person doesn’t walk or get a new trial. In…
Senator Gillibrand is not happy. Here is one of her unsubstantiated complaints. I am quite sure that some of those committing sex offenses have done so before, and with predatory behavior. But casting the vast majority of he said/she said cases as predatory men assaulting angelic waifs who can’t care…
Human lie detector’s not admissible, still, a strong circuit trend. This is consistent with military appellate case law. With expert testimony admitted on a wide range of issues under FRE 702, what limits are there to expert testimony on the credibility of the defendant? As noted by the Tenth Circuit, a…
With the ongoing politics surrounding sexual assault in the military, and whether the commander should remain as the disciplinary decision maker, the AF has done an interesting review of (convictions). After a spate of sex-related incidents last year, the Air Force reviewed all courts-martial from the previous three years —…
Last Words: A Survey and Analysis of Federal Judges’ Views on Allocution in Sentencing Mark W. Bennett U.S. District Court (Northern District of Iowa) Ira P. Robbins American University – Washington College of Law March 10, 2014 Alabama Law Review, Vol. 65, No. 3, 2014 American University, WCL Research Paper…
Congress continues to tinker, rather than take a complete overview and make rational change to the UCMJ – the politics continue. Meanwhile, we have to deal with the gruel they dish out. So, keep an eye on any changes to the statute of limitations for various sex related offenses. AND,…
What the witness sees and remembers is a function of many factors specific to that witness and the crime scene: the witnesses ability to see without glasses, the absence of any lighting at night. What complicates matters is the deliberate or unintentional police actions (and actions of others – see…
There appear to be ten fairly consistent reasons for a wrongful conviction, according to a NIJ researcher. In his series of pods Dr. Gould discusses the reasons (transcripts are available at the pod). I often, always, talk about confirmation bias in connection with military sexual assault investigations, through the 32,…
Center for Prosecutor Integrity. The Center for Prosecutor Integrity is the nation’s only organization with a sole focus on enhancing prosecutorial ethics. The goals of the Center are to preserve the presumption of innocence, assure equal treatment under the law, and end wrongful convictions. CPI sponsors the Registry of Prosecutorial Misconduct, supports…
Congress, commanders, and others ignore the effects of false sexual assault allegations. They don’t fit the meme. They are quite willing and happy to ignore such happenings or possible happenings. 16-year-old commits suicide after being falsely branded a rapist by drug-dealing gang. A schoolboy hanged himself after he was falsely…