Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog

UP: Coastie O-5 in serious trouble

November 4, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Navy Times reports:

A senior Coast Guard official was charged Tuesday with multiple offenses, including sodomy, indecent acts and conduct unbecoming of an officer and gentleman.

Newsminer.com reports:

He is accused of sexual improprieties involving multiple women – some identified as enlisted Coast Guard personnel – in numerous locations around Alaska and the Lower 48.
The alleged offenses also include fraud, adultery, indecent language and soliciting another to commit an offense. The allegations cover a period between November 2004 and shortly before Hamilton was relieved of his duties as the Coast Guard’s commander for the Anchorage sector in May.

File/KTUU-DT

Alaska 2KTUU.com reports:

Hamilton was charged with six specifications of failure to obey a lawful general order; two specifications of false official statements; two specifications of indecent acts; three specifications of sodomy; one specification of fraud against the United States; eight specifications of conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman; two specifications of fraternization; three specifications of adultery; one specification of indecent language; and three specifications of soliciting another to commit an offense[.]

Army deserter and defector talks

November 3, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

The Local (TL), Germany’s News in English reports:

As thousands of people celebrated the opening of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, Victor Grossman feared he might be arrested.

Brett Neely meets the American defector who fled to communist East Germany after deserting from the US Army.

Davis-Mothan murder trial underway

November 3, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Arizona Star is reporting:

Court-martial proceedings got underway today for a Davis-Monthan airman accused of killing another D-M airman in 2007.

Military model gives up crown

November 3, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Military.com reports:

Airman 1st Class Apryl Sanders, a weapons manager for the 16th Airborne Command and Control Squadron at Robins Air Force Base, Ga., was named Miss Military last month by a nonprofit organization in California.

Wednesday, she e-mailed the contest organizer to refuse the crown.

Update on Briscoe v. VA.

November 3, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

For those following developments in United States v. Blazier, here are some status updates on Briscoe v. Virginia, from Prof. Friedman.

In Blazier (and a somewhat similar case) CAAF has granted the following issues:

No. 09-0441/AF. U.S. v. Joshua C. BLAZIER. CCA 36988. Review granted on the following issue:

UP: CP conviction in AZ.

November 2, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

A former Army soldier who claims he put child pornography on his cell phone to help law enforcement catch those who produced the images was sentenced Monday to 18 months in federal prison.

www.azstarnet.com

Unfit to Serve?

October 31, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

According to an alarming new report, 75 percent of young people ages 17 to 24 are unable to enlist in the military because they fail to graduate high school, have a criminal record, or are physically unfit. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and some of America’s top retired military brass will hold a news conference at the National Press Club Thursday to call for immediate action to address this national security threat.

See more at Military Reporters & Editors or MissionReadiness.org.

Nothing or anything of consequence?

October 31, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

If you are following the military officer involvement in the “birther” challenges to President Obama, you will be aware of the status of the litigation. But what about this:

Army recommends ‘birther’ for promotion

Army ‘birther’ Major Stefan F. Cook gets a job at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

Unfit to Serve

October 31, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

The Military Reporters & Editors website is pointing to a release by Missionreadiness.org, which says:

According to an alarming new report, 75 percent of young people ages 17 to 24 are unable to enlist in the military because they fail to graduate high school, have a criminal record, or are physically unfit. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and some of America’s top retired military brass will hold a news conference at the National Press Club Thursday to call for immediate action to address this national security threat.

UP: Urinalysis cases.

October 29, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

CAAFLog is reporting that CAAF has granted the following issue in United States v. Blazier.

Whether, in light of Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004), Appellant was denied meaningful cross-examination of government witnesses in violation of his Sixth Amendment right of confrontation when the military judge did not compel the government to produce essential Brooks Law officials who handled Appellant’s urine samples and instead allowed the expert toxicologist to testify to non-admissible hearsay. See Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, 557 U.S. ___, 129 S. Ct. 2527 (2009).

I’m a happy man. I have been raising this issue in every urinalysis case I’ve done since Crawford. Unfortunately I’ve not been able to convince too many others to raise it. Finally CAAF is going to take a look at the issue. May well lose, but at least there’s a chance. You can’t win unless you raise the issue at trial.