Fay Observer reports that: U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle on Wednesday dismissed an effort by Army Master Sgt. Timothy Bailey Hennis to stop his court-martial for a 1985 triple homicide near Fort Bragg. A jury has been seated in the court-martial. Opening statements and testimony are scheduled to begin today. It appears that the judge…
Continue reading ›The FayObserver.com is reporting that a members panel has been selected and that trial on the merits will begin Wednesday, 17 March 2009.
Continue reading ›Kate Wiltrout in the Virginia Pilot reports that the military judge has directed five defense witnesses be given immunity or the proceedings will be abated. The case against a Navy SEAL accused of not protecting an alleged Iraqi terrorist took a major turn Friday when a military judge ordered that five key defense witnesses be…
Continue reading ›Daily Caller reports that: Following a two-week absence, the Fort Hood attorney was back at it Friday despite a gag order, blogging on the perceived injustices suffered by his defense team in defending Major Nidal Hasan, the man charged in the shooting deaths of 13 people. As previously reported by The Daily Caller, John P.…
Continue reading ›FayObserver reports that: A 12th juror was seated in the court-martial of Army Master Sgt. Timothy B. Hennis at Fort Bragg this morning, but the total was quickly knocked back to 10. Attorneys on both sides exercised their right to peremptorily challenge one juror each.
Continue reading ›The prosecution of SPC Ivette Davila, at Fort Lewis, will generate some interest; hers will be the first death penalty prosecution of a woman under the UCMJ. Checking – has a woman ever been executed as a result of a court-martial in the United States? The answer is no under the UCMJ. The two most…
Continue reading ›Seattle Times reports. A woman accused of killing two fellow soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord and kidnapping their baby in 2008 will face a general court-martial after military authorities determined last week there was enough evidence to move forward with the case. The News Tribune reports this is a death penalty referral (seems like a…
Continue reading ›FourthAmendment blog reports a new case: Police reports were “deceptive and deficient,” but the court believes officer without a credibility determination: Ties go to the runner, or the government. The court finds the officer deceptive and believes him anyway because of a presumption police officers tell the truth [even when their reports are “deceptive and…
Continue reading ›Here’s the scenario: Client is convicted at court-martial. Sentencing is to take place the next day, or a Monday after a Friday conviction. Based on the charges and the evidence there’s a reasonable likelihood the client will get some confinement. The command wants to put the client in pretrial confinement pending sentencing. Can they? 1.…
Continue reading ›There are a number of ways denial of counsel of choice can come up, most frequently related to the availability of civilian counsel. Here’s an interesting one. United States v. Gonzalez-Lopez, 548 U.S. 140 (2006). The opinion is written by Justice Scalia. Here are the important part of the opinion: In sum, the right at…
Continue reading ›
