Uncategorized Category Archives — Page 48 of 116 — Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog Published by International Military Lawyer

Sexual misconduct in the Brig

December 18, 2014 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

The Marine Corps Times reports the court-martial conviction of a female guard at Miramar Naval Consolidated Brig, CA.

Kohlman’s misconduct came to light when the prisoner, Shane Bardes, came forward last year with a detailed statement alleging she and other guards had taken advantage of his status as a prisoner to engage in various acts of sexual misconduct with him. His allegations — along with claims that his pleas for help were ignored by those in charge — were the subject of a November 2013 Marine Corps Times cover story.

One of the unnoticed issues surrounding military sexual assaults, actually sexually assaults in general is the likely frequency of female on male sexual assault. In the case of the Brig “power” might be the motivating factor. Interestingly this issue of abuse of power and rank and status is raised quite frequently with drill instructors, recruiters, and leaders. The issue gets very little attention when it involves a female accused. A cynic might argue that’s because the current attention is focussed on sexual assault as a gender crime rather than on the crime; who commits the offense – men – is the meme.

Military justice humour

December 17, 2014 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

NIMJ writing awards

December 11, 2014 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Please see the NIMJ announcement of the Barry and Jenkins writing awards at this link.

Kevin J. Barry Award for Excellence in Military Legal Studies.

This award recognizes an outstanding article published in an academic or professional journal, and honors the memory of an outstanding scholar and peerless advocate of reform: Kevin J. Barry, a founder and longtime director of NIMJ.

Up periscope under the radar

November 24, 2014 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

On 29 August 2014, the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense issue a report, Evaluation of DoD Compliance with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

In connection with the U.S. sex offender registry’s, there is now quite a robust amount of research that seems to label the idea as ineffective. The worst of the worst are likely to commit similar crimes whether or not they are on a registry and under watch. Fairly regular news reports provide anecdotal support for such a conclusion. As for the rest, statistics show that sex offenders have a much lower recidivism rate than non-sex offenders. In addition, there is a question about the basic effectiveness of such laws; as reported in Science Daily, and The Economist, and in a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, National Criminal Justice Reference Service, in a limited study of South Carolina’s laws. The criticisms do not suggest no value to such registry’s, rather a more precise and reasoned approach. You might read a pro-con discussion about sex offender registration policy sponsored by the Federalist Society. Science Daily notes,

Test

November 21, 2014 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Test

Military justice changes coming?

November 19, 2014 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

From DefenseNews: Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., told reporters on Tuesday that Senate and House Armed Services Committee leaders want to finish the compromise version of the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by Friday. There will likely be no floor amendments, Levin said, largely because there are few remaining days in the legislative calendar.

Transparency

November 11, 2014 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

I was at a conference this weekend on global issues of military justice. Again this lingering issue of transparency came up.

My friend and colleague Gene Fidell at Global Military Justice Reform, has found a couple of gems.

You can find information about the internal workings of the Army trial judiciary at this link, or by typing “Standing Operating Procedures” into your Google search bar.

Free and unfettered speech-not

November 10, 2014 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

The silly political season has passed for a short period of time. Bet’s are on now for the presidential silly season having started, etc.

During the campaign of now senator elect x, the issue of her political statements and her reserve officer obligations came up. That is an interesting topic of discussion. Before entering the discussion I’d first recommend reading “Odd Clauses;” then the actual text of Article 88,UCMJ,and then some other cases on what it means to be an ‘officer.’ under the constitution, etc.

By serendipity I’d been put onto Odd Clauses by a friend and had read it after the x issue arose. And I had completed the first chapter when I learned Oklahoma has apparently amended its constitution to allow legislators to be members of the armed forces, which a U.S. elected official maybe cannot. See Jay Wexler, The Odd Clauses: Understanding the Constitution through Ten of Its Most Curious Provisions, (2012). Anyway.

In the Supremes-Ohio v. Clark-watch for it

October 4, 2014 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

On 2 October, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in a case that might have important ramifications for military justice – Ohio v. Clark. And it is a source for potential motions going forward, regardless of CAAF’s recent Squire opinion. Here is the question presented.

Whether an individual’s obligation to report suspected child abuse makes that individual an agent of law enforcement for purposes of the Confrontation Clause; and (2) whether a child’s out-of-court statements to a teacher in response to the teacher’s concerns about potential child abuse qualify as “testimonial” statements subject to the Confrontation Clause.

So you can see where I am going.

Worth the read

September 20, 2014 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Here are a couple of articles worth the read if you have some time this weekend.

The Reliability of Assault Victims’ Immediate Accounts: Evidence from Trauma Studies, Melissa Hamilton, University of Houston Law Center, September 7, 2014, Stanford Law & Policy Review, Vol. 26, 2015, Forthcoming

Ms. Leveritt has recently taken on the responsibility of Director of the Center for Prosecutor Integrity‘s Wrongful Convictions Academy, which is brand new, and is just spinning up. See Prosecutors Have All the Power. This article is Arkansas-specific, it may likely be applied nationwide.