PLYMOUTH – The four soldiers accused of harassing U.S. Army Pvt. Keiffer P. Wilhelm before he committed suicide Aug. 4 will be court-martialed.
United States v. Brasington, ARMY 20060033 (A. Ct. Crim. App. 5 October 2009).
On 10 September 2008, our superior court granted appellant’s petition for grant of review on the following issue:
WHETHER APPELLANT WAS DENIED HIS SIXTH AMENDMENT RIGHT TO EFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL WHERE THE TRIAL DEFENSE COUNSEL ALLEGEDLY PROVIDED INCOMPETENT ADVICE REGARDING THE LACK OF THE DEFENSE OF MENTAL RESPONSIBILITY.
SCOTUS heard oral argument in Maryland v. Shatzer on Monday, 5 October 2009.
Issue: Whether Edwards v. Arizona (1981), which bars police from initiating questioning with criminal suspects who have invoked their right to counsel, applies to an interrogation that takes place nearly three years later.
Here is a link to the transcript of that oral argument.
Lance Hering walks into the Boulder County Justice Center on Monday with attorney Sarah Morrison. In a plea deal, Hering was placed on probation.
(Paul Aiken, Daily Camera)
FORT BRAGG, N.C. — A soldier in North Carolina has been given a two-year prison sentence after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a fellow Fort Bragg paratrooper.
The Fayetteville Observer reported that Sgt. Justin A. Boyle also was convicted of conspiracy in the July 2008 death of Pfc. Luke Brown of Fredericksburg, Va., whose family told the jury they have forgiven Boyle and asked that he not be punished.
So goes the title of an article in News Tribune, by Scott Fontaine, published: 10/03/09
The Army’s decision to discharge famed war resister Lt. Ehren Watada on Friday won praise from anti-war activists throughout the South Sound and nationwide.
“We’re very happy for Ehren,” said Seth Manzel, an Iraq veteran who runs the antiwar Coffee Strong café in Lakewood. “We think this is proof that people can follow their conscience and not be punished for it.”
A Texas soldier has been sentenced to three years in prison and dishonorably discharged for creating a kidnapping hoax to cover his absence without leave. Pfc. James A. Gonzalez was sentenced after he pleaded guilty at a Fort Hood court-martial to charges that included desertion, making false official statements and obstruction of justice. Private Gonzalez had faced a maximum of more than 22 years’ confinement. He told a military judge that he went into Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, in July with no intention of returning to the Army. He said he sent a text message to a soldier demanding $100,000 in ransom, claiming to be a Mexican drug cartel member.
(Webb County Sheriff’s Office/Associated Press)
Posted: 10/03/2009 12:00:00 AM MDT
EL PASO — A Fort Bliss soldier who died in Iraq in August killed himself with a gunshot to the head, according to Army investigators.
Four soldiers who have been charged with cruelty toward Pvt. Keiffer Wilhelm in the days leading up to his death will not be tried for homicide, a unit spokesman said Friday in an e-mail from Iraq. And two of those soldiers face lesser punishments after the charges against them were amended, he said.
Three firms to compete for Army forensic task orders.
A lot can be said about the services provided by USACIL. Regardless of how you view USACIL, they do not have the same kind of problems many state criminal labs do – the kind of problems identified recently in the Nat. Research Council review and report on forensic labs.
So this news is very concerning – the lowest bidder is going to get the task of analyzing forensic evidence that could put service-members in confinement or to death. Great care needs to be taken handing over these services to a private contractor, and apparently about $145M over five years.
Monday will have the first oral argument of this term in a case relating to criminal law and procedure. Here’s the reminder from the LawProfBlog.
Monday, Oct. 5
Maryland v. Shatzer: limits on police questioning after a suspect asks for a lawyer
Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog
