Court-Martial Trial Practice

http://verdict.justia.com/2012/08/17/teaching-and-learning-about-united-states-v-alvarez-the-stolen-valor-act-casehttp://verdict.justia.com/2012/08/17/teaching-and-learning-about-united-states-v-alvarez-the-stolen-valor-act-case

Deciding what to advise an accused about deportation or sex offender registration is easy (isn’t it).  But,

Aguilar-Turcios v. Holder, might lead to a different conclusion.

Justia.com Opinion Summary: Petitioner, a native and citizen of Honduras and a lawful permanent resident alien of the United States, petitioned for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (BIA) order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge’s order finding him removable as an alien convicted of an aggravated felony. At issue before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals was whether Petitioner’s conviction under Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice qualified as an "aggravated felony" under the modified categorical approach as explained in the Court’s recent en banc decision in United Sates v. Aguila-Montes de Oca. The Court granted the petition, concluding that Petitioner’s Article 92 conviction was not an aggravated felony and Petitioner was therefore not removable. Remanded with instructions to vacate the removal order against Petitioner.

1.  None of the Supreme Court Justices Has Battle Experience, Andrew Cohen, The Atlantic.

This is the first of a two-part series on the Supreme Court and the military. Today’s article focuses on the military history of the men who later became justices. Part II will focus on the disconnect between the current Court and the American war effort.

2.  Why Don’t the Justices Ever Visit Military Hospitals?  Andrew Cohen, The Atlantic.

Justice Scalia’s new book, “Reading Law:  The Interpretation of Legal Texts,” is available.

Here’s the puff piece from Amazon.

In this groundbreaking book by best-selling authors Justice Antonin Scalia and Bryan A. Garner, all the most important principles of constitutional, statutory, and contractual interpretation are systematically explained in an engaging and informative style-including several hundred illustrations from actual cases. Never before has legal interpretation been so fascinatingly explained. Both authors are individually renowned for their scintillating prose styles, and together they make even the seemingly dry subject of legal interpretation riveting. Though intended primarily for judges and the lawyers who appear before them to argue the meaning of texts, Reading Law is sound educational reading for anyone who seeks to understand how judges decide cases-or should decide cases. The book is a superb introduction to modern judicial decision-making. Justice Scalia, with 25 years of experience on the Supreme Court, is the foremost expositor of textualism in the world today. Bryan A. Garner, as editor in chief of Black’s Law Dictionary and author of Garner’s Dictionary of Legal Usage, is the most renowned expert on the language of the law. Reading Law is an essential guide to anyone who wishes to prevail in a legal argument-based on a constitution, a statute, or a contract. The book is calculated to promote valid interpretations: if you have lame arguments, you’ll deplore the book; if you have strong arguments, you’ll exalt it. But whatever your position, you’ll think about law more clearly than ever before.

The July issue of The Jury Expert is now on-line.  There are several items of interest to the trial practitioner.

I was always told:

Tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em;
Tell ‘em;
Tell ‘em what you told ‘em;
Sit down.