Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog

Suicide issues in the military

September 24, 2019 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

If you, like me and some of my colleagues, have personal experiences from military clients who commit, get stopped in the act, or consider suicide while pending court-martial, you are facing a difficult challenge.

My first was a client I was representing on appeal who hung himself in the SHU at the USDB. Sadly, I’d gotten the Dubay judge’s findings and conclusion which lead me to think he was getting a new trial. He died not knowing that. I’d written to him telling him what I thought would be good news. The mail room allegedly refused to give him that letter which lead to a chain of events ending with him in the SHU.

We all have to be sensitive to clients in distress. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if the client is experiencing the “normal” stresses of being in trouble.

History (220919)

September 22, 2019 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

22 September is the anniversary of Nathan Hale being executed for spying against the British forces.

In New York City on September 22, 1776, Nathan Hale, a Connecticut schoolteacher and captain in the Continental Army, is executed by the British for spying.

A graduate of Yale University, Hale joined a Connecticut regiment in 1775 and served in the successful siege of British-occupied Boston. On September 10, 1776, he volunteered to cross behind British lines on Long Island to spy on the British in preparation for the Battle of Harlem Heights.

Know your Constitution

September 21, 2019 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

https://constitution.congress.gov/

Comparing systems–same result?

September 19, 2019 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Shawn Boyne, Pre-Trial Procedures in Criminal Cases.

Prof. Boyne (Indiana U., Robert H. McKinney Sch. of Law), has an interesting read.

Does this seem familiar?

Unfounded Sex Assault Charges Trending Up in DoD Reports

September 17, 2019 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

The Center for Military Readiness has this “report.”

Air Force Gen. John Hyten, nominated to become Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has become the face of injustice done to military personnel who encounter unproved allegations of sexual assault. Accusations that cannot be substantiated are unjust and often career-ending, but they are not unusual. Annual Pentagon reports indicate that they happen all the time.

According to figures published in annual reports of the Pentagon’s Sexual Assault Prevention & Response Office (SAPRO) since FY 2009, almost one-in-four completed cases involving sexual assault have been deemed “unsubstantiated” due to “insufficient evidence” or “allegations unfounded.”

A view from across the pond

September 10, 2019 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Corteen & Stelle, A Criminal Injustice System? Sex Offender Suspects and Defendants. 39 LIVERPOOL L. REV. 265 (2018).

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to open up a discussion regarding the potential shift from the presumption of innocence to a presumption of guilt regarding those suspected of or charged with sexual offending. It is acknowledged that further investigation is needed and it is hoped that this discussion is one of many. The crux of this paper therefore is that sex offender suspects and defendants potentially find themselves in a criminal injustice system. Whilst the focus is predominantly on ‘victims’ (usually female) and people suspected or charged with sexual offending (usually male) within the criminal justice system in England and Wales the concerns articulated here are not confined to this context. For example such concerns are echoed in relation to the potential injustices occurring on American campuses. This demonstrates that this is a domestic and international situation and a situation that extends beyond the criminal justice system. We argue that what is occurring at home and abroad has to be contextualised with regard to public, media and social attitudes and approaches to ‘victims’, suspects, defendants, sex, sexual consent, sexual

Dances of Justice: Tango and Rumba in Comparative Criminal Procedure

September 8, 2019 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Elisabetta Grande (2009) “Dances of Justice: Tango and Rumba in Comparative Criminal Procedure,”

Global Jurist: Vol. 9: Iss. 4 (Frontiers), Article 6.

Available at: http://www.bepress.com/gj/vol9/iss4/art6

Alcohol related decisions?

September 6, 2019 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Tales of the Tipsy Coachman: Being Right for the Wrong Reason – The Tipsy Coachman is Alive and Well and Living in Florida

I object, so let’s discuss that with the members

August 26, 2019 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Ooops.

When you object to something you are asking that the members not hear a piece of testimony or see a piece of evidence–right? Right?

So why then do you let the Trial Counsel (or defense counsel) discuss that with the military judge in front of the members? I see this on a regular basis as I read records of trial–I’m reading one now where there was three pages worth of discussion in front of the members. Yes it’s a hassle to excuse the members and the witness while you have a discussion about admissibility.

Note of SOR

August 18, 2019 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

From Prof. Doug Berman’s excellent Sentencing Law & Policy.

Four+ years ago as noted in this post, the US Supreme Court issued a short per curiam summary reversals in Grady v. North Carolina, No. 14-593 (S. Ct. March 30, 2015) (available here), in which the Court clarified and confirmed that the Fourth Amendment is applicable to sex offender monitoring. That case was remanded back to the state courts, and late last week there was a major ruling by the Supreme Court of North Carolina in North Carolina v. Grady, No. 179A14-3 (N.C. Aug 16, 2019) (available here). This split ruling establishes that persons other than Torrey Grady will benefit from the application of the Fourth Amendment in this setting.