Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog

Current UCMJ after NDAA FY 2011

January 8, 2011 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

The newly revised UCMJ is here. Thanks to CAAFLog.

Blazier trail

January 1, 2011 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

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.

CAAF decides Stefan

December 29, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

United States v. Stefan is a 5-0 opinion written by Judge Stucky. In a nutshell:

We granted review to determine whether the chief of military justice was disqualified from preparing the addendum to the staff judge advocate’s recommendation (SJAR) because, before trial, she had caused the charges to be served on the accused. We hold that she was disqualified under Article 6(c), Uniform
Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), 10 U.S.C. § 806(c) (2006), and Rule for Courts-Martial (R.C.M.) 1106(b), but Appellant was not prejudiced.

CAAF

December 29, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

I object!

December 25, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Waive it or raise it at work – and at a court-martial under the UCMJ.

Judge Ed Carnes for the Eleventh Circuit in United States v. Rodriguez, No. 08-16696, Dec. 22, 2010:

This case poses the question of whether there is a vindictive judge or cowardly counsel exception to the contemporaneous objection rule. Unless there is such an exception, the only issue that the appellant is pressing on appeal is barred for failure to object because she cannot meet the requirements of the plain error rule. Disagreeing with the Second Circuit, we hold that the possibility a judge may be unhappy with an objection does not excuse the failure to make it.

MAJ Hasan sitrep

December 25, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Attorney John Galligan reports that he continues to be stonewalled on access to a security clearance and discovery.

Now what?

December 17, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

What to do, what to do, Lakin is done.

Navy Times reports:

The top sailor at a Jacksonville, Fla.-based P-3 squadron was fired Wednesday as the result of an ongoing investigation into allegations of an improper command climate, Naval Air Force Atlantic said.