Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog

Guns galore for Major Nidal Hasan

November 7, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

NY Daily News and FoxNews.com report:

A 5.7-millimeter pistol used in the Fort Hood shooting was purchased legally by suspect Nidal Hasan at a Texas gun shop, law enforcement officials said Friday.

Army Col. John Rossi, deputy commander at Fort Hood, confirmed at a news conference late Friday in Texas that the two weapons carried by Hasan were not military arms, but "privately owned weapons … purchased locally."

NMCCA issues 15 decisions today

November 6, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

All were submitted on their merits. All except one was a straight legal affirmance.

In United States v. Carney, the court themselves found two errors that needed to be corrected. The convening authority failed to suspend the bad conduct discharge as agreed in a pretrial agreement, and a multiplicity issue was reviewed for plain error and granted. The sentence as adjudged was affirmed.

Red on red killing at Camp Lejeune

November 6, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

WWAY NewsChannel 3 reports:

Twenty-one-year-old Private Jonathan Law is in custody for the murder of another Marine early Friday morning. Officials still have their own questions regarding the incident, and are saying little about what they do know.

ENC Today.com reports that Pvt Law have attempted suicide.

Another child death case

November 6, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Azcentral.com reports that:

A U.S. Airman stationed in England is facing a court martial at Luke Air Force Base over charges that he smothered his 11-month old son.

Military actions – judicial proceedings – and international relations

November 6, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Monstersandcritics.com: has a piece on, “Legal issues snarl German inquiry into airstrike colonel (1st Lead).” While the piece is relevant to criticism of the German commander who ordered an air strike in Afghanistan, I thought it might resonate a little in regard to Italy’s conviction of a U.S. Air Force officer (More on the Italian prosecution on a USAF colonel).

The issue has caused strain between Germany, which has loosened its rules so that its troops in Afghanistan can shoot back, and US General Stanley McChrystal, who is trying to bolster Afghan public support for his International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

Crime in the military

November 6, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

The sad events at Fort Hood have caused some to review the general “crime rate” within the military. Slate’s Daniel Engber has this short piece.

Is There a Lot of Crime on Military Bases?Not as much as you’d think.

That said, major crimes have been in on the rise across all bases since 2003, according to a report (PDF) released in July. Rates of arrests for murder, rape, assault, and arson saw an especially large bump between 2007 and 2008. The study, which was commissioned after six members of the same brigade were charged with homicides over a 12-month period, found that soldiers with more combat experience—and whose units had suffered more casualties—were at greater risk than other soldiers of developing mental illness, conduct problems, and criminal behavior.

Navy PTA clause

November 5, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

CAAFLog has this interesting post and question about a new (?) clause in standard Navy PTA’s that remove good time credit.

This Agreement constitutes my request for, and the convening authority’s approval of, deferment of all confinement suspended pursuant to the terms of this Agreement and deferment for the days of “good time” (as defined by SECNAVINST 1640.9B) that I may earn while in confinement prior to the convening authority taking action on the sentence. The period of deferment will run from the date of sentencing until the date the convening authority acts on the sentence.

And here is CAAFlog’s question:

1Lt Behenna update

November 5, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Robert Don Gifford has provided an update on the Behenna case.

The entire Oklahoma congressional delegation signed a letter for clemency on his behalf.

Recent radiocast from Tulsa radio morning program by host Pat Campbell

Military shooting – Major Hassan – green on green

November 5, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

As tallied by NBC News and the Associated Press (and me), they include:

Sept 13, 2009: SPC Beyshee Velez shoots civilian contractor at COB Speicher, Tikrit, Iraq. In pretrial confinement at Ford Island Naval Brig, Pearl Harbor, pending an Article 32, UCMJ, hearing.
July, 20, 2009: Fort Hood officials have a soldier behind bars after another soldier was shot and killed at a party on the Central Texas Army post. 30-year-old Spc. Ryan Richard Schlack of Oshkosh, Wis., died at a Fort Hood hospital July 18. The Killeen Daily Herald reported he was hit by a bullet another soldier fired into a crowd on the lawn. A Fort Hood soldier, Spc. Armano Baca was charged with the murder.
May 11, 2009: Five soldiers shot dead at Camp Liberty in Baghdad by Sgt. John Russell. Pending court-martial. Currently confined at Butner Federal Medical Center, for a mental competence determination.
Sept. 8, 2008: Spc. Jody Michael Wirawan shoots himself to death after killing 1st Lt. Robert Bartlett Fletcher at Fort Hood.
Feb. 25, 2008: Dustin Thorson, an Air Force technical sergeant, fatally shoots his son and daughter at home on Tinker Air Base in Oklahoma in domestic dispute with ex-wife. He had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after returning from Iraq.
June 7 2005: Two National Guard officers are killed by a grenade at headquarters in Tikrit. Staff Sgt. Alberto Martinez is later acquitted of murder in a court-martial.
March 23, 2003: Army Sgt. Hasan Akbar tosses grenades into three tents and then fires a rifle at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait, killing one and injuring 14. Akbar later receives death sentence.
Oct. 27, 1995: Sgt. William Kreutzer goes on shooting spree at Fort Bragg, killing one and injuring 18 in a sniper attack during formation. He is serving a life sentence after a death sentence was overturned.

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences/ Department of Defense/ Reuters
MAJ (Dr.) Hasan is was born in VA.
(CNN)
The son of immigrant parents from a small town near Jerusalem, he joined the Army right out of high school, against his parents’ wishes. The Army, in turn, put him through college and then medical school, where he trained to be a psychiatrist. (NYT)
Who is Nidal Malik Hasan? StarTribune.

Fort Hood shootings.

November 5, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Stars & Stripes on FORT HOOD, Texas —

A soldier believed to be a trauma psychiatrist opened fire at a U.S. Army base in Fort Hood, Texas on Thursday, unleashing a stream of gunfire that left 12 people dead and 31 wounded. Authorities killed the gunman, and apprehended two other soldiers suspected in what appears to be the worst mass shooting at a U.S. military base.

A law enforcement official identified the gunman as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, listed by the Army as part of the services medical corps and was stationed at Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood. Hasan earlier completed a fellowship in Disaster and Preventive Psychiatry with the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.