Articles Posted in Defenses

Did Iraq veteran’s PTSD spark his shoplifitng charge? By Julia O’Malley | Anchorage Daily News. Do you have client accused of shoplifting, a senior officer or senior enlisted perhaps, a really good person who no-one would have imagined as stealing from the Exchange? Can you explain that? For some years I have successfully argued from…

Here’s a useful and timely article. Hafemeister & Stockey on Criminal Responsibility of War Veterans with PTSD Thomas L. Hafemeister (University of Virginia School of Law) and Nicole A. Stockey have posted Last Stand? The Criminal Responsibility of War Veterans Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan W ith Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Indiana Law Journal, Forthcoming) on…

I have previously commented about evidence of the victim’s character for violence and specific incidents. To refresh – there are several ways the assault victim’s character for violent behavior can become relevant and admissible in an assault case. a. The defense puts on opinion testimony about the victim’s violent, threatening, or assaultive non-peaceful character, as…

Does the SODDI defense work? Here are some thoughts or considerations. Elizabeth R. Tenney, Hayley M.D. Cleary, Barbara A. Spellman, “This Other Dude Did It!” A Test of the Alternative Explanation Defense, 21 The Jury Expert July 2009.

Here’s an interesting post by Prof. Miller. Colin Miller, Your Only Self Defense: Court Of Appeals Of Louisana Engaged In Incorrect Right To Present A Defense Analysis In Murder Appeal, 13 April 2009. Most states, including Louisiana, have rules of evidence that govern the admissibility of evidence in their courts. Those rules, however, are not…

I’m sure you, like me, have used or tried to use PTSD at trial, either on the merits or at least in sentencing. Along with TBI, PTSD seems to have a significant impact, especially when it results from combat. There has been a lot published over the last few years about how the military handles…

Here is the NMCCA en banc opinion in United States v. Neal, __ M.J. ___ NMCCA 200800746 (N-M Ct. Crim. App. March 31, 2009), regarding Article 120, UCMJ. .

Yeager v. United States will be argued Monday at the Supreme Court. Under the doctrine of collateral estoppel, a prior court’s decision on an issue necessary to its judgment can preclude relitigation of that same issue in a future case. The Supreme Court held in Ashe v. Swenson (1970) that criminal defendants may invoke that…

If you are like me you are doing a lot of BAH fraud cases right now, especially for recalled or activated Guard and Reserve personnel. The AFCCA has issued an opinion about mistake and instructions in the fraud type case. United States v. Armstrong, ACM 37130 (A.F. Ct. Crim. App. 10 February 2009). In Armstrong…