JDNews of Jacksonville, NC, reports:
Private Jonathan Law, 21, was placed in custody of authorities at the Camp Lejeune Brig Sunday, for the alleged homicide of Cpl. Joshua E. Hartzell, 22, according to a release from 2d Marine Logistics Group.
Law was moved Saturday night from Pitt County Memorial Hospital, where he was treated for self-inflicted wounds, to the brig, according to the release.
Where Will They Get the Troops? Preparing Undeployables for the Afghan Front
As the Obama administration debates whether to send tens of thousands of extra troops to Afghanistan, an already overstretched military is increasingly struggling to meet its deployment numbers. Surprisingly, one place it seems to be targeting is military personnel who go absent without leave (AWOL) and then are caught or turn themselves in.
Here is a copy of the preferred charges in subject case, courtesy of CGBlog.
Posts about this case UP: Coastie O-5 in serious trouble
WWAY NewsChannel 3 reports:
Twenty-one-year-old Private Jonathan Law is in custody for the murder of another Marine early Friday morning. Officials still have their own questions regarding the incident, and are saying little about what they do know.
ENC Today.com reports that Pvt Law have attempted suicide.
Azcentral.com reports that:
A U.S. Airman stationed in England is facing a court martial at Luke Air Force Base over charges that he smothered his 11-month old son.
CAAFLog has this interesting post and question about a new (?) clause in standard Navy PTA’s that remove good time credit.
This Agreement constitutes my request for, and the convening authority’s approval of, deferment of all confinement suspended pursuant to the terms of this Agreement and deferment for the days of “good time” (as defined by SECNAVINST 1640.9B) that I may earn while in confinement prior to the convening authority taking action on the sentence. The period of deferment will run from the date of sentencing until the date the convening authority acts on the sentence.
And here is CAAFlog’s question:
Robert Don Gifford has provided an update on the Behenna case.
The entire Oklahoma congressional delegation signed a letter for clemency on his behalf.
Recent radiocast from Tulsa radio morning program by host Pat Campbell
The Leaf Chronicle reports:
Military training takes many forms, and it doesn’t always involve guns and explosives, occasionally the weapon of choice is law books and verbal assaults.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces on Wednesday heard the case of an Air Force staff sergeant at Fort Campbell, giving new military lawyers a glimpse of the court in which they will someday argue cases.
Federal Evidence blog has a nice update on S.448 which is the Senate version of H.R. 985. Basically, although termed the “Free Flow of Information Act,” it is the reporters privilege rule that has been circulating for some time now. Actual status? According to the bloggers:
Whether the Senate Judiciary Committee adopts the revision to S. 448 or not, the prospect for a quick passage of a media shield law would pose a challenge. At the present time Congressional leaders are suggesting that the session would not extend long past November. Even if a revised S. 448 was passed by the Committee and received passage on the floor, it would still have to be reconciled with the House version of the measure, which departs from many of the standards set out in the revision to S. 448.
United States v. Garcia. This case deals with the ongoing perplexing issue in Coast Guard (and Air Force) cases where recorded Article 32’s are not done and where the defense is prohibited from making their own recording. A secondary issue was a removal of defense counsel without the client’s consent.
CGCCA found no constitutional violation in denying the defense from making a recording. However, and here’s the lesson:
This is not to say that the convening authority did not abuse his discretion in denying the defense request to be permitted to tape-record the proceedings and provide tapes to the government. We do not reach that question.
Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog