Found at birtherreport.com.
LTC Lakin and Mr. Jensen will be on the Barry Farber radio tonight at 2000.
Apparently the “embarrsassment” language was intended by the judge to alert Congress that they need to begin impeachment proceedings.
The spinning has begun, and yes there’s a pun in there, or at least an attempted one. Based on cherry-picked comments from a number of Lakin supporters it appears that all of this is merely the military judge saving the President “embarrassment.” They are grasping at a straw as a way to explain a complete and utter refutation of what they have been trying to incorrectly advertize as the state of military law, assuming they were present. Some comments about the military judge as an individual have become so personal, so obnoxious, and downright nasty that I have decided to remove or not post such comments. Yes, this is a change from my normal attitude of let what’s said be said and the sayer and his/her worth as a person be evaluated.
PERHAPS SOMEONE COULD BE ENCOURAGED TO MAKE THE WRITTEN FINDINGS PUBLICLY AVAILABLE?
I was present for the “40 minute” reading of her written findings and conclusions. These written findings and conclusions are now part of the record of trial, and are also now available to Jensen, LTC Lakin, and the prosecutors. Perhaps APF could post the findings so we can see just how badly the military judge ruled – APF let’s get those wrong headed arguments of the judge out in the open where the full text can be read and dissected?
NMCCA has released a number of decisions. Several have providency issues and issues not raised by appellate counsel.
United States v. Messias. The court set-aside a finding of guilty to because of an inadequate providence inquiry. No sentence relief granted.
While the providence inquiry establishes facts sufficient to demonstrate that the appellant drove on base and that he believed the driving to be wrongful, there are no facts developed which establish either the invalidity of the appellant’s license, if any, or in the alternative, his failure to have a valid license in his possession. We cannot infer either eventuality from this record. We are left with a substantial basis in fact to question this plea and conclude the military judge abused his discretion in accepting this plea on these facts.
I have just returned from watching most of the Article 39(a), UCMJ, hearing. (I left as the last item on the table was a defense request for Alan Keyes and LtGen McInerney.)
To say that the military judge destroyed the defense arguments in detail would not be an overstatement. Although the military judge did politely characterize the defense arguments as an “erroneous view of the law.”
The authority to issue orders does not depend on the qualifications of the President, any suggestion that it does is an erroneous view of the law.
Mother Jones’ Adam Weinstein reports that soldiers at Virginia’s Fort Eustis were recently punished for refusing to attend one of the many Christian evangelical events sponsored by the commanding base general and "self-professed ‘reborn’ officer, Maj. General James E. Chambers." The incident and subsequent investigation have revealed a Fort Eustis culture where Christian evangelism isn’t just pervasive, it’s a direct order. Weinstein explains that this isn’t just a quirky, isolated incident. It’s part of an increasingly zealous military culture of evangelical-or-else[.]
safeguardourconsititution (APF) has an affidavit from LTG T. McInerney in support of LTC Lakin’s discovery request.
Lawyers interested in the legal merits of the issue will likely find themselves dissatisfied with the affidavit. It is a combination of justification for LTC Lakin’s contumacy and reasons why the discovery should be granted. There is no comment on the general failure of most of the rest of the officer corps in continuing to obey unlawful orders. They have not posted the request or motion in support of any request. Once again failing to give full disclosure.
The affidavit appears to also justify the discovery request as a need for public disclosure. This would be IMHO an abuse of process. The purpose of discovery in a criminal proceeding is to aid the defense, not to aid public disclosure for disclosures sake.
AP is reporting that the Khadr detainee trial will begin again 18 October.
Here is an interesting Washington Post opinion piece about some contractors in Iraq.
THE ALLEGATIONS are sadly familiar by now: The men were picked up by U.S. military forces, locked in tiny cells, deprived of sleep, and subjected to extreme temperatures and loud music.
Attorneys for a disgruntled Army Reserve soldier who fatally shot his supervisor after his vacation was denied say his fasting to meet stringent military weight guidelines left him in a trancelike state.
(This courtroom sketch shows Army Reserve Sgt. Rashad Valmont during military hearing Monday, Aug. 30, 2010 at Fort McPherson, Ga. Attorney William Cassara, not shown, said Valmont was dehydrated, exhausted and delirious when he burst into Master Sgt. Pedro Mercado’s office in nearby Fort Gillem in June and shot him six times. (AP Photo/Richard Miller) (Richard Miller – AP))
CAAFLog previously put out:
FY 2010 DOD Authorization Act includes a provision (Section 506) establishing a five-member “independent panel to review the judge advocate requirements of the Department of the Navy.” The panel “shall carry out a study of the policies and management and organizational practices of the Navy and Marine Corps with respect to the responsibilities, assignment, and career development of judge advocates for purposes of determining the number of judge advocates required to fulfill the legal mission of the Department of the Navy.” Among other specific directives, the bill tells the panel to “review career patterns for Marine Corps judge advocates in order to identify and validate assignments to nonlegal billets required for professional development and promotion.”
The Independent Panel To Review the Judge Advocate Requirements of the Department of the Navy will meet 1 September 2010. Hat tip to CAAFLog.
Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog
