A former commander in the Tennessee State Guard has lost an appeal to overturn his conviction for trying to provide his soldiers with homemade machine guns for possible use in defending the state.
At trial and in his appeal, Mr. Hamblen argued that he and his soldiers had a Second Amendment right as members of the state militia to possess military-grade weapons.
He said Tennessee’s state guard arsenal included only 21 M-16 rifles for 3,500 volunteer soldiers.
Army Maj. Gen. Charles Cleveland has responded to a letter that challenges the handling of a case against three Navy SEALs accused of mishandling a suspected terrorist.
In the Dec. 15 letter, addressed to Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., Cleveland essentially refuses to drop the charges against the three men."While the assault and resulting injury to the detainee were relatively minor, the more disconcerting allegations are those related to the sailor’s attempts to cover-up the incident," said Cleveland, who writes that this appears to be an attempt to influence the testimony of a witness.
Cleveland writes that the "alleged allegations are not founded solely on the word of the detainee, but rather, were initially raised by other U.S. service members."
David Vincent Weber arrived last month at a Ramona Veterans of Foreign Wars event in style: two stars on his shoulder and two Purple Heart medals pinned on the front of a Marine Corps
uniform.
Weber, 69, appeared in a federal courtroom in downtown San Diego yesterday with considerably less pomp. He faces a charge under the 2005 Stolen Valor Act of wearing military medals he didn’t earn while passing himself off as a Marine major general at VFW Post 3783’s birthday celebration for the Corps.
SignOn San Diego reports.
Discovery obligations apply to court-martial motions practice, for example when there is to be a suppression hearing.
The government has a mandatory duty to disclose evidence in its possession that is favorable to the defense, "either because it was exculpatory or of impeachment value . . . ." . The government breaches the duty established by Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), and its progeny, including Giglio v. United States, 405 U.S. 150 (1972), when it withholds such evidence, either willfully or inadvertently, and the withheld evidence is found to be "material." Id. In the context of non-disclosed impeachment evidence, materiality is assessed in terms of whether the reliability of the witness in question may well be determinative of the outcome of the proceedings. See Pennsylvania v. Ritchie, 480 U.S. 39 (1987). That is, the evidence must be such that "there is a reasonable probability that, had the evidence been disclosed to the defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different." (quoting United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667, 682 (1985)). Stated otherwise, "the relevant question is: ‘when viewed as a whole and in light of the substance of the prosecution’s case, did the government’s failure to provide . . . [the] Brady impeachment evidence to the defense . . . lead to an untrustworthy [result]. . . ." (some citations omitted).
United States v. Best, No._________, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119802, at *19–20 (M.D. Pa. Dec. 23, 2009).
A man accused of posing as a Marine major general at a Veterans of Foreign Wars party in Ramona to celebrate the birthday of the Marine Corps was arraigned Wednesday on a federal misdemeanor charge of making false claims about military decorations or medals.
San Diego News Network reports.
The family of Evan Vela, an imprisoned former soldier from Parker, is expressing gratitude for a Christmas donation to his wife and children.
The donation came about through efforts by a national organization to support soldiers accused of crimes related to the war on terrorism.
reports Standard Journal.
State Department investigators say Chief Engineman (SW) Arturo Puente at Jacksonville’s Mayport Naval Station has used a false name for the last 22 years while working at U.S. embassies in Rome and Panama, according to the Florida Times-Union newspaper.
Navy Times reports. No indications of a court-martial or any UCMJ violations.
Here is Randy Wilson’s letter to his children about being a trial lawyer. His thoughts are equally applicable to both sides in a court-martial.
Two of my children decided to go to law school. One just passed the bar exam, and the other is in the third year of law school. This is a letter I just wrote to them offering some of my views on the practice of law.
I’ve had members refer clients; a former TC as a client; and government witnesses refer clients.
Federal law should govern a federal NCIS search on a military base for evidence of a murder of a civilian employee on the base that ends up prosecuted in state court. The court finds that this is a narrow issue in this case. The security search of defendant’s car on the military base was also valid. State v. Torres, 2009 Haw. App. LEXIS 781 (December 15, 2009).
Fourthamendment.com.
I follow futurelawyer.com because he has one of the great sites for lawyers like myself who travel with an office-in-the-briefcase. Here is an interesting blog for the end of the year. No this isn’t a gadget or a piece of software. But the “procedure” may come in handy. Hopefully it doesn’t bowl you over with laughing too hard.
Regular readers of this blog know that I have dropped smart phones in various water graves; twice, in the toilet (don’t ask), and once in a swimming pool, and once in Tampa Bay. In each case, I did my best to dry them out, but, alas, they died a terrible death. Now, LifeHacker informs me that I could have dried them in a bowl of rice, which, because of its ability to soak up moisture, can save wet electronics if applied soon enough. Since my accidents, I have been a lot more careful with my smartphones, so I hope I never have to try this one out. However, if it happens to you, keep this one in your pocket just in case.
Testimonial: Rice Resurrects Even the Most Soaked of Gadgets – Cellphones – Lifehacker.
Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog
