Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog

USAF Demands Italy Lay Off Colonel in CIA Milan Caper

September 24, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

That’s the title of an article by Jeff Stein | September 23, 2009, on CQPolitics.com

An Air Force lawyer has told Italy to lay off Col. Joseph L. Romano III, an officer caught up in a CIA counterterrorism kidnapping case.
Romano is one of 26 Americans being tried in absentia by Italy on kidnapping charges in connection with the abduction of an Al Qaeda suspect known as Abu Omar, in Feb. 2003.

. . .

On Tuesday the staff judge advocate of the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano wrote to the Minister of Justice in Rome saying that Italy does not have criminal jurisdiction over Romano under a NATO status-of-forces agreement signed by all its members in 1951.

AP-LS news

September 23, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

The American Psychology-Law Society is a divsion of the American Psychological Association. They have some very good timely research in their magazine, and they try to keep track of relevant news. Here are a couple of interesting items on their web-site. Here are a couple of examples.

1. Fake video footage ‘persuades half of people to wrongly accuse others of crime’

Fake video footage can persuade almost half of viewers to accuse people of crimes they have not committed, new research suggests. The study, by Warwick University, found that almost 50 per cent of people shown false footage of an event they witnessed first hand were prepared to believe the video version rather than what they actually saw.

Child pornography is?

September 22, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

This “issue” or question would be addressed to all of those parents across the country who like to take pictures of their young children. The answer could be that maybe you shouldn’t.

1. Bath Photos & Wal-Mart: What is Child Pornography? By Caleb Groos on September 22, 2009, on FindLawBlotter.

An Arizona couple had to regain custody of their children after Wal-Mart employees and local authorities deemed their bath time photos child pornography. Their horror story has many wondering: what exactly constitutes child pornography?

Training Center Holding Special Court Martial

September 22, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Is the title of an article in the Cape May County Herald, by Jack Fichter

CAPE MAY- A special court martial was scheduled for Tuesday Sept. 22 for Petty Officer Francisco Thompson who is charged with violating 14 punitive Articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
The hearing was scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. but was delayed until 1 p.m. as attorneys discussed a motion, according to Coast Guard spokesperson Chief Petty Officer Veronica Bandrowski.

Thompson is an E5 Petty Officer Second Class, Aviation Maintenance Mechanic. The charges involve consensual sex with a recruit, according to Bandrowski.

JAA/CAAF Advocacy Seminar

September 21, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Courtesy of CAAFLog the agenda is online.

You can register and pay your $50.00 online here at the JAA website.

Unfortunately they have not yet posted specifics of the location of the Symposium at GMU Law.

NMCCA RSS feed.

September 21, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

NMCCA now has an RSS feed capability on their Opinions page. This allows you to set up in your browser, or if you wish to receive the feed in your Outlook. The benefit to your Outlook is that you get fairly quick notice of a new posting without having to check the website. You will still have to go to the website to read the case, but you get an alert. On that note, NMCCA has issued four new opinions.

United States v. Wagoner. “One liner.”

United States v. Nunes, III. “One liner.”

Philly Judge Orders Taming of the Lawyers

September 21, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

That is the title of an article by Ashby Jones, on the Wall St. Journal Law Blog, pour encourager les autres.

And do as adversaries do in law, Strive mightily but eat and drink as friends.
— From William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew

We wonder, after reading this admonition from the Bard, just how many lawyers these days manage to live up to it. Lawyers, let’s toss it over to you. Give a quick mental rundown of your opposing counsel and tally up the number of those people with whom you’d “eat and drink as friends.” We’re betting it’s few, if any.

Putting aside the applicability of the line to modern-day practice, it nevertheless inspired a federal judge in Philadelphia, Gene E.K. Pratter, to rule recently that, as part of a lesson in civility, two opposing lawyers must sit down and have a meal together. Click here for the story, from the Philly Legal Intelligencer.

Trust game leaves 1 dead, 3 in jail

September 21, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Is the title of an article by Trista Talton – Staff writer, Marine Corps Times.
Posted : Monday Sep 21, 2009 6:26:12 EDT

It was supposed to be a game.

But now Nelson, 25, will spend the next eight years in prison for killing Malone with an accidental gunshot to the forehead — the result of a game gone terribly wrong, a game he and his fellow members of 2nd section, Scout Platoon, 2nd Tank Battalion, called “Trust.”

Phony War Hero Faces Court-Martial

September 21, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Reads a CBS News piece from SABILLASVILLE, Md., Sept. 21, 2009

Marine who Toured U.S. Touting Heroics in Afghanistan Exposed as Fraud

In this July 22, 2008 photo, U.S. Marine Sgt. David Budwah is shown during a visit with children at Camp West Mar in Sabillasville, Md. (AP Photo/Herald-Mail, Yvette May)

Navy won’t confirm any punishment in hazing scandal

September 20, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

That’s the headline from an article By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes, Mideast edition, Sunday, September 20, 2009

WASHINGTON — Two years after naval investigators uncovered a hazing scandal inside a Bahrain-based canine unit, including numerous cases of violent attacks and sex crimes, officials can’t say whether anyone was ever disciplined or demoted.

Naval investigators have confirmed 93 instances of hazing within the Bahrain Military Working Dogs Division. One sailor, who several times was forced to simulate oral sex on other men, was later kicked out of the Navy for being gay. Another committed suicide after being charged with failing to stop the abuse.

But naval officials say that as far as they are concerned, the case is closed, an embarrassing one-time problem that is now completely in the past.