Uncategorized Category Archives — Page 83 of 117 — Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog Published by International Military Lawyer

CO relieved still has career

January 14, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

The commanding officer of the Yokosuka, Japan-based cruiser Cowpens was relieved of duty Wednesday after being punished for “cruelty and maltreatment” during her time in charge, the Navy announced. In an unusual move, she is being permitted to continue on to an assignment in the Pentagon.

Capt. Holly Graf was brought before an admiral’s mast with Rear Adm. Kevin Donegan, the commander of Carrier Strike Group 5, after an inspector general’s investigation found problems with her “temperament and demeanor vis-a-vis her subordinates,” said Cmdr. Jeff Davis, a spokesman for 7th Fleet.

Her continuing into a job to which she had already been assigned is unusual for a Navy captain who has been relieved; many fired COs are assigned to the staff of their parent command and their careers effectively ended.

CPT Bjork – Evergreen – to go to court-martial

January 14, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

The United States military has decided to refer charges against an Army captain from Evergreen who is accused of ordering Iraqi officers to kill two Iraqi civilians.

Army Times reports.

Single mom to court-martial

January 13, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

The Army has filed court-martial charges against Alexis Hutchinson, an Army cook who refused to deploy to Afghanistan because she couldn’t find anyone to look after her 1-year-old son.

Newser reports.

The court-martial charges are AWOL and missing movement, offenses under the UCMJ.

SEAL case #3 status [corrected]

January 13, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

The trial for the Navy SEAL accused of punching an alleged al-Qaida terrorist while in U.S. custody in Iraq has been postponed until May 3, but the trial will remain in Norfolk.

Capt. Moira Modzelewski granted government prosecutors the continuance on the grounds that most of the evidence in the case is still undergoing a classification review and has yet to be seen by either the prosecution or the defense.

Navy Times reports.

Air Force theft of classified material – OTHIL approved?

January 13, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Two officers accused of stealing stealing classified material from an underground missile launch facility at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota have been allowed to resign rather than face courts-martial, the military said Wednesday.

A hearing was held in September 2008 to determine whether Borowiecki would face a trial. A supervisor. Capt. David Walbeck, testified at the hearing that Borowiecki wanted the domino-size device as a souvenir because he thought it would be "a cool thing to have." Walbeck also testified that had the technology been compromised, it could have led to "unintended detonation" of a nuclear missile.
The Air Force later downplayed Walbeck’s statement, saying the launch device is one of many safeguards that must work together to ensure security.
The Air Force has said Borowiecki told officials that Abbas had lied by saying he destroyed his device. The Air Force refused to confirm whether that device remains missing.

LA Times reports.

Another “trust me” case

January 12, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

County authorities have dismissed charges and turned over to the Air Force their investigation of an airman accused of fatally shooting a buddy during a game of “Trust” at an off-base apartment.

Air Force Times reports., that there will be a court-martial instead of a civilian trial.

Briscoe update

January 11, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Here is a link to today’s oral argument in Briscoe v. Virginia, the post Crawford and Melendez-Diaz case.

While I’m not convinced the decision will have much meaning in military cases, there are others who believe it will. So it does behoove us to monitor the case.

Stolen Valor report

January 10, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Whether Robert White was injured in Iraq in 2005 and deserved a Purple Heart makes no difference now.

The chief hospital corpsman wore the award without receiving it through official channels, and in the Navy’s eyes, that makes him a faker.

Marine Corps Times reports.

Major Hasan update

January 9, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

The Killeen Daily Herald reports that LTG Cone recently gave a briefing about “behavioral health care.”

The Army is behind Fort Hood’s effort to address behavioral health care issues and plans to institute it across the board, the post’s commander said Friday.
In response to incidents like the Nov. 5 shooting and an Army-wide increase in suicides, Fort Hood officials implemented the Behavioral Health Care Plan, a two-year process which is set to undergo periodic reviews and leverage the "whole of community" to accomplish tasks in several phases, Cone said. The goal is to make sure everyone who needs behavioral health care is reached and that its capabilities and capacities are right for Fort Hood’s soldiers, families and the civilian workforce.
Cone also talked about a Recovery and Resiliency Task Force, part of which includes a comprehensive approach to identify, diagnose and holistically treat those impacted by events like the Nov. 5 shooting at the post’s Soldier Readiness Processing Center where 13 were killed and more than 30 were wounded when a gunman opened fire.

During the briefing apparently the following was said about Major Hasan and his pending court-martial issues.

Rapping rap II

January 9, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

A few days ago I posted about the military rapper pending court-martial for his music.

It seems that he has a website and is now “promoting himself as the first hip hop president of the world, reports Coastal Courier.com. (Caution bad language.)