murder Tag Archives — Page 2 of 2 — Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog

Major Hasan update

December 11, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

The Army Times reports that the prosecution is being bolstered for the court-martial of Major Hasan for his court-martial at Fort Hood.

A senior military official said Friday that a new lead prosecutor has been appointed in the Fort Hood shooting case, a man who secured the death penalty in a similar case four years ago.

Col. Michael Mulligan will head the prosecution of Maj. Nidal Hasan, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the investigation.

Sailor’s murder trial

December 9, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

A sailor accused of fatally shooting a man outside a Florida nightclub in 2007 will be court-martialed on a murder charge next week at Naval Station Mayport.

Navy Times reports, the court-martial will be for killing a owner of a night club in Jacksonville, FL. The article cites Article 111, UCMJ, but I suspect they mean 118.

Behenna

December 9, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Below is the text of the sworn affidavit, dated April 21, in which Dr. MacDonell explains how knowledge he obtained while waiting to testify in the case could have changed dramatically its outcome,

in the court-martial of 1Lt Michael Behenna, for murder and other violations of the UCMJ.

McCarty & Fatigante, at BigGovernment blog.

Fort Lewis murder case

December 4, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Seattleweekly.com reports:

Having now admitted to murder, Fort Lewis Spc. Ivette Davila today awaits word on whether she will face the death penalty for it.

Davila, 23, an Army chemical specialist, is charged with killing Staff Sgt. Timothy Miller and Sgt. Randi Miller in their Parkland home March 2, 2008, soaking their bodies in muriatic acid and kidnapping their 7-month-old daughter.

Military insanity defense – Part II

November 11, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

In Part I, I briefly outlined the formal examination process prior to presenting an insanity/lack of mental responsibility defense. Now here is some information on the “law” or legal standard for an insanity defense. This is the defense that Major Hasan and his lawyers are going to have to consider for his actions at Fort Hood. The outlines can be found in Rule for Courts-Martial (RCM) 916(k).

You can immediately see why PTSD might not be sufficient of a mental health issue to be a defense rather than mitigation, because:

Davis Montham airman not guilty in homicide case

November 11, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

The azstarnet reports:

A Davis-Monthan airman was acquitted Tuesday in the slaying of another airman in 2007 during a south-side house party, an official said.

A court martial panel found Senior Airman Philip Andre Howard not guilty of the June 2007 death of Airman 1st Class Brian Santos, said Capt. Stacie Shafran, a D-M spokeswoman.

Major Hasan’s mental health defense — or something else

November 10, 2009 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Will Major Hasan successfully use PTSD as a defense, or will it at least become a mitigating factor to be considered. If the trial is at Fort Hood, as seems likely at the moment, many of the Members (jury) panel will already have quite a bit of extra-judicial information.

Here are some links relating to secondary traumatization.

Zimmering, Munroe, & Gulliver, Secondary Traumatization in Mental Health Care Providers, 20 Psych. Times (Apr. 2003).