Uncategorized Category Archives — Page 61 of 112 — Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog Published by International Military Lawyer

Curses, now what

June 28, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Gannet News While he still vacillates between regret and indignity over what happened in Iraq, he has given up thoughts of going back to retrieve a separate bundle of money that he says he found and buried in the sands — and Army investigators never discovered.

Army Times reports:

Less than two years ago, Earl Coffey stood on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, a broken man, holding his Army uniform, photos and military medals in his hands.

The son of Kentucky coal miners, Coffey had watched his life unravel after his theft of a dictator’s desert treasure became an almost biblical curse — running through his hands like sand, landing him in prison and sending him on a downward spiral of homelessness, divorce and drug addiction.

With nothing left, Coffey tossed the remnants of his 13-year Army career into the surf — and began a long walk home to the Appalachian mountains of Harlan County, Ky. . .

Coffey, 36, has since rebuilt a quiet life among the coal mines that he escaped by joining the Army — only to become one of seven U.S. soldiers convicted in 2003 of “looting and pillaging” for his part in stealing the $586,000 in cash he found in one of Saddam Hussein’s bombed-out Iraqi palaces.

Fort Gillem shooting update 5

June 26, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Among others, the Virgin Islands Daily News reports that:

U.S. Army officials have charged a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserves, a St. Croix native, with the premeditated murder of his supervisor, who was shot multiple times last week at Fort Gillem in Georgia, where the two men were stationed. . . .

A pretrial confinement hearing held Friday determined Valmont will remain in pretrial confinement.

Afghan and foreign AWOLs update 5

June 25, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Fox News reports that:

At least 11 of the 17 members of the Afghan military who went AWOL from an Air Force base in Texas and are considered deserters by their nation have turned up in the exact place you’d expect to find them in the year 2010.

They’re on Facebook. . . .

Humor in military lawyering

June 25, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Army Board for Correction of Military Records, here we come. Actually, there’s probably no requirement to start there I suppose.

The OCWeekly reports that:

Taitz has also been pining for recently sacked U.S. general Stanley McChrystal to give her a call. She says that McCrystal is a "perfect plaintiff to expose Obama’s lack of legitimacy," and that he "needs to file a legal action, seeking compensations, as he was pressured to resign by one who is illegally occupying the position of the commander in chief."

Michigan v. Bryant

June 24, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Professor Friedman alerts that two amicus briefs have been filed. The link to his brief does not work, but the one to NACDL does. As a reminder the QP is:

Whether statements to investigating police officers accusing someone of a crime and describing the offense after it has been completed fall outside the scope of the Confrontation Clause merely because the suspect remains at large or the declarant has been injure

A cautionary tale

June 24, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Here is a posting on Above the Law about a Marine officer attending law school, and his Marine Corps future. It’s not clear if he’s there as a LEP’er. But I suspect he’s on his way to being a leper in a number of communities.

It’s a Scarlet Letter tale for the digital age. A Georgetown law student’s life has completely unraveled. His way of dealing with losing his wife, his mistress, his supposed baby, his military assignment, and good standing at Georgetown Law School? A public confession on Facebook.

Post-trial administrative discharges

June 23, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

CAAF’s journal for 22 June 2010 notes:

No. 10-0468/AR. U.S. v. Sonya M. WATSON. CCA 20080175. Review granted on the following issue:

WHETHER THE ARMY COURT ERRED WHEN IT RULED THAT APPELLANT’S ADMINISTRATIVE DISCHARGE WAS VOIDABLE AND PROPERLY REVOKED AND DID NOT REMIT THE ADJUDGED DISMISSAL.

Lawyering discharges

June 23, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Schaefer v. McHugh is the interesting case of an Army JAG who finagled a medical discharge, but then the orders were revoked, and upon return to the fold he received a GOMR. It’s not nice to have the Army pay for your law school education and then try to sneak out the back-door.

Malcolm Schaefer pointed to his bad knees as a reason to get out of his Army service. But Schaefer was an Army lawyer. Bad knees typically do not preclude service as a lawyer. The Army therefore rejected Schaefer’s request for discharge. But because of an administrative foul-up, Schaefer was able to obtain papers showing his legal discharge. Shortly afterwards, the Army informed Schaefer that he had to return to service. Schaefer did so, and the Army then took disciplinary action against him for his apparent shenanigans. In this litigation, Schaefer argues, in essence, that he beat the system by obtaining papers showing his discharge and that subsequent Army disciplinary actions against him were invalid. The District Court rejected Schaefer’s challenge, granting summary judgment to the Secretary of the Army. We affirm the judgment of the District Court.

Crystal gazing

June 22, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Well, we have a general idea of what GEN McChrystal is accused of saying, as well of supposed statements of other officers. As I was driving home today I heard a story that he’d submitted a resignation – from the Army, or his current position? USA Today has this piece in which they report a resignation and a denial that a resignation has been submitted. There are so many puns about crystal and star gazing. But sadly there’ll be little humor in what’s going on. From a military justice practice perspective, how many clients have been accused and disciplined for similar types of disrespect?

The LA Times has this piece about the increasing politicalization of the military (something I somewhat tongue in cheek commented was behind LTC Lakin’s contumacy):

Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal’s criticism of Obama administration officials symbolizes an accelerated partisanship of the officer corps.

Fort Gillem shooting update 4

June 22, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that:

Military officials have charged Staff Sgt. Rashad Valmont with murder in the fatal shooting of Master Sgt. Pedro Mercado at Fort Gillem, U.S. Army spokeswoman Maj. Lenora Hutchinson told the AJC on Tuesday.

The report then goes on to say that: