We do a lot of military sexual assault cases with alcohol involved. It is not unusual for a complaining witness to claim they were drunk, blacked out and didn’t consent. First, if blacked out they can’t know they didn’t consent–it’s impossible if they were blacked out, rather than them exhibiting a convenient and selective memory.…
Continue reading ›Sixty years after Congress created the UCMJ to protect accused servicemembers from abusive and arbitrary punishment, a significant faction in Congress now believes it must be almost completely dismantled and restructured because is is not being used aggressively enough. Multiple federal organizations and a fair number of outside parties consider the notion of due process…
Continue reading ›There are some interesting articles for military justice practitioners in the Summer 2015, MLR. Barracks, Dormitories, and Capitol Hill: Finding Justice in the Divergent Politics of Military and College Sexual Assault 3. By Major Robert E. Murdough.pdf Rudderless: 15 Years and Still Little Direction on the Boundaries of Military Rule of Evidence 513 4. By…
Continue reading ›New Developments in Criminal Law: Child Pornography and Appellate Review, by MAJ Jeremy Stephens. THE ABUSE OF DISCRETION STANDARD OF REVIEW IN MILITARY JUSTICE APPEALS, by COLONEL JEREMY STONE WEBER.
Continue reading ›Regardless of the type of case, motive to falsely testify of a primary witness is almost always of some relevance. The recent case of Nappi v. Yelich, from the Tenth highlights that. The Sixth Amendment’s confrontation right, which applies equally to defendants in state prosecutions, “means more than being allowed to confront the witness physically.”…
Continue reading ›The Real Cost Of Having Commanders In Charge Of Military Justice This article has appeared in Task & Purpose as a result of United States v. Woods, decided by the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces on 18 June 2015. Incredibly, a senior naval officer was appointed to be the president of a court-martial…
Continue reading ›The version of the facts contained in the majority opinion is far more convincing than are the facts contained in the record of trial. It is not unusual for an appellate opinion to be selective in reciting the facts of a case relevant to the decision. This can be attributed to several factors, most of…
Continue reading ›Navy Times recently interviewed the Director of NCIS. Here is a question I found interesting and thought I’d share. Q. There have been a number of recent cases in which inspector general investigations concluded NCIS agents weren’t following procedures. What are you doing to improve that? A. I think if we have needed to we…
Continue reading ›Being drunk and being incapacitated aren’t the same – no matter how hard military sexual assault trainers try to convince you otherwise. Such training is not just wrong – it is – IMHO – knowingly false. Which brings us, finally, to the drunk sex issue. So, is Sokolow suggesting that all women who say they…
Continue reading ›has published a symposium – articles related to military justice, specifically sexual assault cases. Both sides will find something in the articles. Of particular interest are two articles: Major Seamone’s article about secondary affect on military justice practitioners from over exposure to sexual assault cases, and Colonel Schenk’s disagreement with the statistics and compilation of…
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