Well, that may be anti-climatic? I think the Supremes punted. Here’s a link to the Briscoe memorandum opinion, more later.
PER CURIAM. We vacate the judgment of the Supreme Court of Vir-ginia and remand the case for further proceedings not inconsistent with the opinion in Melendez-Diaz v. Massa-chusetts, 557 U. S. ___ (2009).
A challenge to the Stolen Valor Act is being made based on the First Amendment.
Rick Strandlof may have lied about being a decorated Iraq War veteran, but those lies are protected by the First Amendment, according to his attorney and a civil liberties organization.
Would you trust this man in a foxhole?
Three interesting grants from CAAF in the last few days.
No. 07-0401/NA. U.S. v. Russell B. MULLINS. CCA 200200988. Review granted on the following issues:
WHETHER THE LOWER COURT IN HOLDING THAT THERE WAS NOTHING IMPERMISSIBLE IN THE MILITARY JUDGE ALLOWING THE GOVERNMENT TO INTRODUCE LIE DETECTOR TESTIMONY IN VIOLATION OF MILITARY RULE OF EVIDENCE 702.
Here is a little more information about the NG soldier held in Afghanistan pending court-martial for alleged CP sent to him by his mother.
The family of an Illinois National Guard soldier believes he was wrongly accused of possessing child pornography by a friend he had recently argued with.
Rodney and Terri Miller told the Galesburg Register-Mail that their son, Specialist Billy Miller, had a falling out with a friend Afghanistan, and the friend subsequently reported seeing inappropriate pictures on Billy Miller’s laptop.
A Hohenfels-based soldier was sentenced to 8½ years in prison Thursday in a knife attack on a German family last summer.
Racine, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, was originally charged with one count of attempted premeditated murder, along with several lesser charges, according to the official Army charge sheet. But after the three-day trial before a military judge, Racine was convicted of aggravated assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm.
But the defense argued that Racine thought he was in a war zone, and that he attacked the German family as he sought shelter in their apartment.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today that he has forwarded recommendations to the Army for disciplinary action against supervisors of the accused Ft. Hood shooter.
The LA Times reports.
The report recommends clarifying for unit commanders their responsibility in identifying people who could pose a threat. Unit commanders, according to the report, must become attuned to indicators of behavioral problems or the potential for violence or radicalization.
You’ll have seen various reports about the pending prosecution of CPT Bjork for allegedly ordering some Iraqi officers to shoot two Iraqi civilians (I have few here, and here). There is a report in The US Report.
[T]he accusers are 3 former Iraqi police and a former Iraqi intel officer who are currently detainees in Iraq.
Reports have also surfaced that the detainees were allowed to speak with each other about their claims.
Reporting from Washington – Between five and eight Army officers are expected to face discipline for failing to take action against the accused Ft. Hood shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, over a series of behavioral and professional problems in the years leading up to the November rampage.
Reports the LA Times. No word on the status of the R.C.M. 706 proceedings, when an Article 32, UCMJ, hearing might be scheduled, or a court-martial held in the Fort Hood slayings.
A southwestern Oklahoma woman faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to taking a 12-year-old girl to a hotel for sex with Marines from nearby Fort Sill.
Still pending are rape charges against three Marines and charges of enabling child neglect against the girl’s parents. Police say the girl is now 13 and is in protective custody.
Marine Corps Times reports.
GALESBURG, Illinois – Tonight a Quad City area soldier is in Afghanistan being forced to stay to face charges connected to pictures his mother sent to him. The mother says the pictures were designed to ease the homesickness of life on the warfront but she had no idea they would lead to a child pornography investigation and months of wondering whether the accusations would bring charges.
The child is a relative whom the family says Billy treated as his own child when the girl was diagnosed with cancer as her father went through boot camp. Her father told us he can’t believe the charges, especially since they’re on other family computers and on Facebook pages and no one else has been investigated.
"I feel he is a prisoner of something I sent to him", said Terri, "and I can’t do nothing for him."
The Army says Billy will stay in Afghanistan until he faces court martial or there are other recommendations. The family is worried for Billy’s mental health. They’ve noticed changes that they blame on the months of not knowing and spending nearly 17 months in Afghanistan. They hope he can receive the help he needs soon and hope it comes on American soil.
Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog