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FLETC’s The Informer is out for this month. In addition to commentary on Ventris and Gant, here are a couple of summaries of two computer search cases. 10th CIRCUIT United States v. Otero, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 9001, April 28, 2009. The modern development of the personal computer and its ability to store and intermingle…

In some, non-U.S., police circles it’s called gilding the lily. But you are not supposed to get caught. Officer Investigated For Perjury After DUI Case Falls Apart, By Dan Morse, Washington Post, 7 May 2009. Although gilding the lily is really more subtle than this. It’s those oft remembered micro-facts months after the case, arrest,…

Here is a fascinating article and it references CAAFLog. Lee has concerns about the potential for bloggers to impact the outcome of a case. She even suggests that advocates may go so far as to “game” a case, by writing publicly about it in a blog to spur the Court to grant cert or rule…

DOJ has dropped its appeal and Watada will not be retried because of double jeopardy concerns. Here is a more detailed SeattlePI.com report.

There will be no more oral arguments this term. The “watch” now relates to two pending decisions of importance to military justice practitioners. The most important is when will the Supremes issue an opinion in Melendez-Diaz. Currently the law in the military for admission of forensic reports is Harcrow (for which M-D is on point).…

Here is an item from the FayObserver.com Why is Ronald Adrin Gray still alive?

Computer search warrant was badly drafted, and it lacked particularity. However, the good faith exception saved the search because the officer sought counsel from the USMJ and AUSA in executing it. United States v. Otero, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 9001 (10th Cir. April 28, 2009). Police who were actually investigating the possibility child porn was…

There has been a discussion about access to court dockets by the media, practitioners, educators, and the public to information about on-going courts-martial. For example here is a piece on CAAFLog. While I have been a supporter of transparency, I from time to time wish we could do as other common law countries do about…

In its decision Wednesday in Kansas v. Ventris (No. 07-1356), the Supreme Court ruled that the government may impeach a defendant’s testimony using statements obtained during an interrogation that violated his Sixth Amendment right to counsel, even though the prosecution would be barred from using such tainted evidence as part of its case in chief.…

Here is another read this article about a court-martial in New Zealand. Same question, what’s different?