Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog

Slate has a piece, The Catch-22 of Eyewitness ID, Juries trust the memory of witnesses even when they shouldn’t. h/t How Appealing.

SCOTUSBlog has this of potential interest. The petition of the day is: New Mexico v. Herring Issue:  Whether Berghuis v. Thompkins requires advice that a suspect has the right to stop talking at any time in order to establish an implied waiver of Miranda rights. This case illustrates, again if…

Peeking Behind the Plea Bargaining Process Laurie L. Levenson Loyola Law School Los Angeles December 11, 2012 Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review, Forthcoming Loyola-LA Legal Studies Paper No. 2012-49 Abstract: The Supreme Court’s rulings in Missouri v. Frye and Lafler v. Cooper, which recognized a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right…

The C. G. Ct. Crim. Apps. has issued an unpublished decision in United States v. Whitaker, in which it discusses whether: Appellant’s conviction under Article 125, UCMJ, for consensual sodomy should be dismissed because the military judge failed to discuss the corresponding liberty interest during the providence inquiry. The court…

I’ve posted already about the Oregon case – Oregon v. Lawson. Here is a piece from the excellent Concurring Opinions blog about eyewitness testimony. I would like to underscore Brandon’s point about reform efforts that are currently underway. While for the most part, the criminal justice process is stuck in…

From time to time I find a need to ask for a special instruction or a rewording of a BB instruction.  Here is a favorite, in BAH/TAD/TDY fraud cases: I have asked for (but not gotten) a “Consciousness of Innocence,” instruction in cases where there is evidence to support it…

Prof. Berman notes a unique “stale” murder/rape case in Illinois. Speaking of the Supreme Court, two recent rulings by the Justices, Gall and Pepper, made much of considering under federal sentencing law the positive post-offense behavior by a defendant. In this case, it seems the defendant was a model citizen…

I have mentioned this article before, Michael D. Risinger, Navigating Expert Reliability:  Are Criminal Standards of Certainty Being Left in the Dock?, 64 ALBANY L. REV. 99 (2000).  The basic theme: This article shows that, as to proffers of asserted expert testimony, civil defendants win their Daubert reliability challenges to…

Many years ago we sought to improve our counsel performance at NLSO Norfolk with developing checklists, protocols, and a PQS system.  It seemed to work. Now here is an article, Darryl K. Brown, Defense Counsel, Trial Judges, and Evidence Protocols, Brown, Darryl K., Defense Counsel, Trial Judges, and Evidence Protocols,…

The Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals is tragically behind in timely action on pending and future court-martial appeals.  The military appellate courts, so far have declined to take action to release an appellant pending appeal. The Canadians set a the example. A Standing Court Martial today sentenced Captain Daniel…