Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog
Prof. Friedman links to the respondents’s brief in Bullcoming v. New Mexico.
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Two Supremes grants
Two Supreme Court grants of certiorari should be of interest to MJ practitioners. Here are links to SCOTUSBLog for the case materials.
Missouri v. Frye
Issue: Can a defendant who validly pleads guilty assert a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel by alleging that, but for counsel’s error in failing to communicate a plea offer, he would have pleaded guilty with more favorable terms? What remedy, if any, should be provided for ineffective assistance of counsel during plea bargain negotiations if the defendant was later convicted and sentenced pursuant to constitutionally adequate procedures?
Wuterich decided
On Friday, NMCCA decided U.S. v. Wuterich.
More later, but:
In response to Orders issued by this court, the respondents produced the required transcripts, relevant exhibits, and a sealed memorandum prepared by the military judge recounting an ex parte hearing he conducted with defense counsel on the severance issue. Having reviewed the record and pleadings of the parties, we find that the military judge’s detailed, complete findings of fact are well-supported and not clearly erroneous. Having completed our review, we conclude that the sealed memorandum should remain sealed, and that the military judge did not abuse his discretion in severing the attorney-client relationship.
Post-trial duties
NMCCA has decided United States v. Owens.
The appellant asserts that the attorney-client relationship with his detailed trial defense counsel was terminated without good cause, leaving the appellant legally and factually without post-trial representation. The basis for the appellant’s claim is that substitute counsel failed to establish an attorney-client relationship with the appellant prior to receipt of the staff judge advocate’s recommendation (SJAR).
The court makes clear in footnote 3, that:
Evidence past and present
Federal Evidence Review now has their annual retro and prospective reviews of noteworthy evidence issues for 2010 and 2011 online.
Key Evidence Issues During 2010
1. Supreme Court Watch: Briscoe v. Virginia – Confrontation Clause – No New Guidance On Forensic Laboratory Analysis
Motivation
To stay out of trouble.
To work hard for you clients.
Labor Department employment statistics released Friday show that young veterans continue to have serious and growing problems finding work in a tight job market, while older veterans are doing better than the general population.
Marine Corps Times comments
Good luck to any court-martialed sailor or Marine who is found guilty of violating the Uniform Code of Military Justice and tries to appeal.
Luck is indeed what they may need, given the shortcomings of the appeals process cited by the Defense Department Inspector General.
The IG released a damning report in December, slamming the Navy and Marine Corps for “at least two decades” of serious deficiencies in handling appeals of general and special courts-martial convictions.
ACCA denies
Military.com reports:
An Army appeals court on Friday declined to order that gruesome Afghan corpse photographs taken by Washington state-based soldiers be made public.
Pfc. Andrew Holmes, of Boise, Idaho, is one of five soldiers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord charged in the deaths of three civilians in Kandahar Province last year. He filed a petition asking the Army Court of Criminal Appeals to allow him to present the sensitive photographs during a preliminary hearing in his case.
Current UCMJ after NDAA FY 2011
The newly revised UCMJ is here. Thanks to CAAFLog.
Blazier trail
You may be familiar with the quote:
In every case involving [state your poison], we are confronted with relativity and the degree to which such conduct may have affected the substantial rights of the defendant. It is better to follow the rules than to try to undo what has been done. Otherwise stated, one ‘Cannot unring a bell’; ‘after the thrust of the saber it is difficult to say forget the wound’; and finally, ‘if you throw a skunk into the jury box, you can’t instruct the jury not to smell it’. Dunn v. United States, 307 F.2d 883, 886 (5th Cir. 1962)(emphasis added).
And you may be familiar with this research.