Court-Martial Trial Practice

Impeachment with conviction. Mil. R. Evid. 609(b) issues of impeachment with a prior conviction rarely come up at court-martial. But if there were to be a prior conviction there may be some interpretation necessary. So parsing several posts of Prof. Colin Miller the Great at Evidence Prof Blog, here we go. If you want to…

As of July 1, the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services has promulgated new model policies regarding eyewitness identification, including photo line-ups, following a study that was done showing how many mistaken IDs there are. By statute, all police departments are required to have a policy regarding both live and photo line-ups 19.2-390.02, though the…

To Err is Human: Using Science to Reduce Mistaken Eyewitness Identifications Through Police Lineups by Maureen McGough Solving Sexual Assaults: Finding Answers Through Research by Nancy Ritter

The Importance of James Otis Thomas K. Clancy West Virginia University College of Law; University of Mississippi School of Law July 17, 2012 Mississippi Law Journal, Vol. 82, 2012 Abstract: Historical analysis remains a fundamentally important tool to interpret the words of the Fourth Amendment and no historical event is more important that James Otis’…

Military (Federal) Rule of Evidence 803(3) provides an exception to the rule against hearsay for A statement of the declarant’s then-existing state of mind (such as motive, intent, or plan) or emotional, sensory, or physical condition (such as mental feeling, pain, or bodily health), but not including a statement of memory or belief to prove…

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Acute Suggestibility in Police Interrogation: Self-Regulation Failure as a Primary Mechanism of Vulnerability, Deborah Davis, University of Nevada, Reno, Richard A. Leo, University of San Francisco – School of Law, 2012 Anne Ridley, ed., Investigative Suggestibility: THEORY, RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS (John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 2012) Univ. of San Francisco Law Research Paper Abstract: This…

Maybe not. There is quite a bit of research and anecdotal evidence to show that eyewitness testimony can be unreliable. Now New Jersey is in the frontline of making sure a jury is aware of the potential problems with eyewitness testimony. To quote the ABA Journal. New jury instructions in New Jersey will warn that…

I have for some time been challenging the limitation on the defense opportunity to get depositions. The usual response is that a deposition isn’t for “good cause” because, according to the Discussion under R.C.M. 704, the witness “will be available at trial.” I argue that R.C.M. 704 and the discussion are not procedure authorized by…

The Inspector Rutledge detective stories are a favorite of mine. To quote an Amazon review: [T]he books are set in the period just after the First World War, and Inspector Rutledge is a veteran of said conflict. Even more unique, he’s haunted by the ghost of one of his subordinates, a corporal whom Rutledge had…