Articles Posted in Uncategorized

Court martial set Monday for autistic Marine, plea bargain likely

A court martial is set for [this past] Monday at Camp Pendleton for a 21-year-old Marine from Orange County accused of desertion, possession of child pornography and fraudulent enlistment.

The case will likely end up in a plea bargain with the Marine admitting guilt to one or more charges in exchange for being released from the brig and discharged from the Marine Corps under something less than honorable conditions.

Like civilian justice, the court martial system encourages plea bargains to avoid trials, particularly in cases where the accused has already spent significant time in custody. Pvt. Joshua Fry has been in the brig since being arrested a year ago attempting to desert.

Death and Pvt Loving, 20 Jul7 2009.

Dwight Sullivan at CAAFLog has posted this:

On 1 and 2 October, the Judge Advocate General of the Air Force will present a CLE conference at the George Mason School of Law in Arlington, Virginia.  The program is open to active duty, reserve, and retired personnel, as well as to civilian attorneys.  The program’s cost is $35, payable by 15 September.  Requests for CLE credit should be submitted by 10 August.

Contact me for CLE credit information.

Scholars & Scribes Review the Rulings: The Supreme Court’s 2008-2009 Term

July 17, 2009, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m; Location: The Heritage Foundation’s Allison Auditorium.

Directions.

The officers had PC for a vehicle search based on their surveillance, so Gant has no application. United States v. Almaraz, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54138 (S.D. N.Y. June 26, 2009).*

The stop in this case was not unreasonably extended. The officer’s questioning during the writing of the ticket led to answers that were more hesitant and gave reasonable suspicion. United States v. Suitt, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 13769 (8th Cir. June 25, 2009).*

Drug ‘em if you’ve got ‘em.

I’ve argued often that the military drug policy is broken:  Alcohol the number one drug of abuse — a killer, a cause of injury, and a cause of physical damage and loss of military property — goes relatively free from regulation and consequence, military pharmacies distribute millions of prescription drugs and put the people back to work, and the one time user of marijuana goes to jail.  Now this.

U.S. military: Heavily armed and medicated: Prescription pill dependency among American troops is on the rise.

This is not news.  If the issue with drugs – legal or illegal – is safety, why do thousands of military personnel go back to work with drugs in their pocket after a visit to sick-call, etc?

Here is information concerning President Obama’s recent comments on DADT.

Obama urges lesbian, gay patience overturning ‘unjust laws’ (text from the L.A. Times)

Remarks by President Obama at the LGBT Pride Month White House Reception, June 29, 2009.

Here is Volokh Conspiracy’s multiple choice test on the comments.

Abu Ghraib Scandal Haunts Lynndie England

June 29, 2009

Associated Press

Here is part of Professor Colin Miller’s recent post about search incident to arrest after Arizona v. Gant was decided by the Supreme Court.  This is a good review of the issue.

[Quote]  In 1969, the Supreme Court established the boundaries of proper search incident to a lawful arrest in California v. Chimel, 395 U.S. 752 (1969). According to the Court,

When an arrest is made, it is reasonable for the arresting officer to search the person arrested in order to remove any weapons that the latter might seek to use in order to resist arrest or effect his escape….And the area into which an arrestee might reach in order to grab a weapon or evidentiary items must, of course, be governed by a like rule.

This seems to be the another post-Rodriguez case in which a petition has been denied.

No. 09-0030/AR.  U.S. v. Josh R. RITTENHOUSE.  CCA 20050411.  On consideration of the petition for grant of review of the decision of the United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals and in light of United States v. Rodriguez, 67 M.J. 110 (C.A.A.F. 2009), said petition is dismissed as untimely filed.

EFFRON, Chief Judge (concurring in the result):