Army Times reports: A federal appeals panel says sex offenders convicted in military court but housed by the Bureau of Prisons are not eligible for civil commitment. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the ruling Monday in the case of former Army officer Benjamin Barnard Joshua, who pleaded guilty…
Continue reading ›The AFCCA has issued its opinion in the relook at United States v. Rose. The court comes to the same conclusion that the defense counsel advice to the client about sex offender registration was wrong and IAC. The initial decision at AFCCA is here, and CAAF’s 28 October 2009 journal entry and order is here.…
Continue reading ›Military.com reports that: Both the Montgomery and Post 9/11 GI Bills are worth over $49,000. This money is not a loan and will help you cover the costs of getting a degree. Full-time students receive up to $1,368 a month no matter how much tuition costs. The Post 9/11 GI Bill may even give you…
Continue reading ›Allen v. United States Air Force, No. 08-3450 (8th Cir. 7 May 2010). Joseph Allen served in the United States Air Force (Air Force) for more than twenty years, from January 14, 1985, until September 30, 2006, when he voluntarily retired and received an Honorable Discharge. During his service, on February 18, 2004, the Air…
Continue reading ›Here courtesy of Sentencing Law & Policy: This weekend’s must-read comes via this link at SSRN to a new piece by Margaret Colgate Love and Gabriel Chin concerning the Supreme Court’s important decision late last month in Padilla v. Kentucky. “Padilla v. Kentucky: The Right to Counsel and the Collateral Consequences of Conviction.” Here is…
Continue reading ›The Supreme Court has issued an opinion in Padilla v. Kentucky, which addresses the duty to inform a client of the collateral consequences of the conviction on their immigrant status. I have posted on this in connection with United States v. Miller, 63 M.J. 452 (C.A.A.F. 2006) and other cases: here, here, here, and here.…
Continue reading ›Not all states allow a prior court-martial conviction into evidence. But as the decision in Oliver v. Commonwealth, 60 S.E. 2d 567 (2005), shows, the Commonwealth of Virginia considers a prior special court-martial conviction admissible in sentencing. In principle, we accept that certain “wholly unconstitutional” convictions can be collaterally attacked and disqualified for consideration during…
Continue reading ›In this case we decide whether Joshua Williams, who pleaded guilty to carnal knowledge of a minor in violation of military law while serving in the Navy, is exempt from registration as a sex offender pursuant to Penal Code sections 290, subdivision (c) and 290.005 (undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code), and therefore…
Continue reading ›An Air Force colonel will be forced to retire as a first lieutenant, an Air Force review determined. Col. Michael D. Murphy, convicted in April 2009 by a general court-martial for failing to tell the Air Force he was disbarred as an attorney in 1984, will be retired from the Air Force effective April 1…
Continue reading ›The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals considers a conviction of “housebreaking,” under Article 130, UCMJ, to be a crime of violence for firearms possession charges in federal district court. We frequently are asked by clients if they can still own a firearm. The answer is a very nuanced one, as Begay and Whetzell indicate. Appellant’s…
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