UCI

Applying this rationale, I believe, contrary to the view expressed by my brothers, that there is more than a possibility that appellant’s trial was adversely affected by unlawful command influence. My experience as an officer and lawyer in the Army is that, when a commander says he is angry about individuals giving favorable testimony on behalf of accused soldiers, people in his command pay attention. My experience also convinces me that, when this commander is a major general, and he expresses his displeasure in this regard in lectures over a period of a year and is joined by members of his staff and other subordinates in publicizing his view, a reasonable person could conclude that every trial in that jurisdiction was very likely to have been affected by such unlawful actions.

United States v. Whitaker, 21 M.J. 597, 601-02 (A.C.M.R. 1985)

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