Uncategorized Category Archives — Page 85 of 113 — Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog Published by International Military Lawyer

Major Hasan update

December 11, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

The Army Times reports that the prosecution is being bolstered for the court-martial of Major Hasan for his court-martial at Fort Hood.

A senior military official said Friday that a new lead prosecutor has been appointed in the Fort Hood shooting case, a man who secured the death penalty in a similar case four years ago.

Col. Michael Mulligan will head the prosecution of Maj. Nidal Hasan, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the investigation.

Chessani recommendation

December 11, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Having avoided a court-martial, it appears that LtCol Chessani has obtained a recommendation that he be allowed to retire in his current grade.

A three-member panel found Friday that a former battalion commander charged with failing to fully disclose and investigate the killing of two dozen Iraqi men, women and children in 2005 should retire at his current rank.

The panel of senior officers decided that Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani “demonstrated substandard performance of duty, but did not commit any acts of misconduct,” a Marine Corps spokeswoman, Maj. Erin Wiener, said in an email.

Sailor’s murder trial

December 9, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

A sailor accused of fatally shooting a man outside a Florida nightclub in 2007 will be court-martialed on a murder charge next week at Naval Station Mayport.

Navy Times reports, the court-martial will be for killing a owner of a night club in Jacksonville, FL. The article cites Article 111, UCMJ, but I suspect they mean 118.

Stolen Valor report

December 8, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Kenneth Jerome Nelson was once celebrated as a war hero and the unofficial caretaker of a monument dedicated to Vietnam veterans in the shadow of the California State Capitol.

Now, he’s known as a liar.

The veterans activist pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Sacramento to wearing a Silver Star that had not been awarded to him, a misdemeanor. Nelson, 60, will be sentenced March 1 to a violation of the federal Stolen Valor Act, which prohibits wearing unearned military decorations, authorities said.

The shrinking privilege

December 8, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

That is Professor Colin Miller’s entree to:

The Shrink(ing) Privilege, Take 2: New York Times Article Reports That Exceptions To Military Psychotherapist-Patient Privilege Are Hindering Therapy.

My post is here on the NYT article discussing the military patient-psychotherapist privilege at court-martial and under the UCMJ.

Crawford – seeking medical care

December 8, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

FederalEvidence blog has posted:

Fifth Circuit addresses an open issue concerning admission of medical statements under the Confrontation Clause; circuit also notes that “there is no constitutional right to confront the victim of a crime” where the government elects not to call the victim at trial, in United States v. Santos, _ F.3d _ (5th Cir. Dec. 2, 2009) (No. 08-31225).

On the issue of “whether out-of-court statements made during medical treatment are testimonial,” the circuit was guided by two recent Supreme Court decision. The first case involved dicta from the Court’s most recent Confrontation Clause decision in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, noting that “medical reports created for treatment purposes . . . would not be testimonial.” Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, 129 S. Ct. at 2533 n.2.

SCOTUS Briscoe scheduled for 11 January

December 8, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Briscoe v. Virginia, a post Crawford and Melendez-Diaz case is scheduled to be argued at the U. S. Supreme Court on 11 January 2010. Professor Friedman will argue for petitioner Briscoe.

Professor Friedman notes that, “I have just served and filed the reply in Briscoe. You can read it by clicking here.”

All of the prior documents about this case can be found at SCOTUSWiki. This case is of importance to military justice practitioners. There are several cases pending within military appellate courts that might be affected by Briscoe, as well as some cases pending at court-martial. Some of my prior comments are here.

Flawed court-martial pretrial system

December 7, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan’s defense attorney skirmished with Army commanders Wednesday over the timing of a sanity examination for the Fort Hood gunman, saying that his client is still too medically impaired to participate.

So begins a piece in the Dallas News. What’s the flaw. There is no judge that attorney Galligan can go to or appeal to.

"This is getting dirty," lawyer John Galligan said of the Army. "These guys have made it clear that they’re going for blood."

Self-reporting – not

December 7, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

The Navy’s rule forcing sailors to “promptly” tell their commanding officers if they have been arrested for an off-base drunken-driving violation is unconstitutional, the Navy and Marine Corps’s highest military judges have ruled.

And so begins a Navy Times article on United States v. Serianne.

I have posted before about the new DoD regulation that requires persons E-6 and above to report all civilian convictions.

Major Hasan’s mental “health”

December 7, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Here are a couple of interesting items exploring the mental health issues potentially involved with Major Nidal Malik Hasan’s shooting rampage at Fort Hood – conclusion, he’s sane.

Howard Bloom asks, What if Nidal Malik Hasan is Sane? Psychology Today blog.

Were they the insane acts of a man driven over the edge by the vicarious stress of war? By the strain of hearing horror stories from the traumatized veterans of battles in Iraq and Iran?