Army Times reports:
The Army psychiatrist charged in last year’s deadly Fort Hood shooting rampage is to have a mental evaluation this week, his attorney said Monday.
Maj. Nidal Hasan will be evaluated in the county jail near the Texas Army post as early as Tuesday by a three-member military mental health panel, said his lead attorney, John Galligan.
The Columbian reports:
Some people were taking the job of soldiering a bit casually on Dec. 6, 1941, says a Washougal veteran of World War II.
It took one day to change everything.
I posted the other day about discovery, the appellate courts are seeing a number of cases about discovery issues. ACCA hears oral argument in the Behenna case which presents the question of trial counsel’s failure to comply with Brady/Bagley/Giglio/Article 46 in the context of a motion for mistrial and a motion for new trial. As I have noted before, the biggest discovery issues are impeachment evidence and evidence that is favorable to the accused. Trial counsel don’t seem to have much problem disclosing all the bad stuff against the client, it is the good stuff favorable to the client that becomes the issue.
In the Behenna case the defense was semi fortunate.
[Tip? if a prosecution witness is suddenly no longer a witness, call them and ask why.]
Not completely off topic, the Army Times reports:
Soldiers are dangerously starving themselves, gobbling diet pills and laxatives — even going under the knife in costly liposuction surgery — all to meet the Army’s weight standards and avoid losing their careers.
Military.com reports:
A Navy intelligence specialist stationed at Fort Bragg is in custody after an investigation revealed he allegedly sold top secret documents to an undercover FBI agent posing as a foreign intelligence officer.
Apparently there were two meetings at which approximately four documents were handed over in exchange for a total of $3,000.00.
Edgar Leopold Kranz.
I have not received an answer to my email on his Facebook page. But a number of newspapers are reporting that (now) Master Sergeant Kranz was stationed at Minot AB. He was promoted t MSgt in 2006. Air Force Times is reporting he retired in March 2010.
I have always taken the view that disclosure of bad information about witnesses is a self-executing duty on trial counsel. I make this point because trial counsel often refuse to look into the background of it’s witnesses until the MJ orders that.
The military judge properly concluded the government “had an obligation to provide that CID report of investigation to the [d]efense, even absent a discovery request of any kind.” and thus violated its disclosure duties under the United States Constitution and the UCMJ.See UCMJ art. 46; Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S. Ct. 1194, 10 L. Ed. 2d 215 (1963); United States v. Roberts, 59 M.J. 323 (C.A.A.F. 2004); R.C.M. 701.
I think ACCA agrees.
They will get you under Article 134, UCMJ.
Appeals Court Frees Ex-Principal: Panel rules that altered photos were not child pornography because the nude bodies were those of an adult.
A three-judge panel of the Second District Court of Appeal in Lakeland ruled Friday that photographs he had were not child pornography because the nude bodies shown were those of an adult.
PTA provisions depriving an appellant of parole and clemency consideration under generally applicable procedures are unenforceable under R.C.M. 705(c)(1)(B). United States v. Tate, 64 M.J. 269, 272 (C.A.A.F. 2007).
The big news in the presidential pardons world is that President Obama has finally granted nine pardons. Pardon Power blog reports:
682 days into his presidency, Barack Obama has finally discovered the clemency power by granting 9 pardons.
One of the nine is a military case from 1994 in which the accused was sentenced to 24 months confinement.
Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog
