James Gow, War and War Crimes: Military, Legitimacy and Success in Armed Conflict, Coumbia Univ. Press, Dec. 2011. Necessity and proportionality inform the laws of war, but how do these principles work in modern warfare? What new pressures do the practitioners of war face, especially in light of rapid changes in strategy and policy and…
Continue reading ›Professor Friedman has posted various amicus pleadings on his blog here. He lists one not currently on the SCOTUSBlog for the case. A little more here with Supreme Court cases with potential impact on military justice. Professor Friedman does note as to his own filing: There are a couple of passages that I would amend…
Continue reading ›Now we know – who the nominee is to be the next judge of the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces — Kevin A. Ohlson. Here is a short fact sheet from DOJ. Here’s a piece from whorunsGOV at the Washington Post. Career History: Chief of Staff to Attorney General Eric Holder (January 2009-January…
Continue reading ›The Recordnet.com reports on the non-capital referral decision in United States v. Platero. The commanding general of Fort Stewart, Ga., did not talk directly with the families of two soldiers killed in Iraq a year ago – including the Carrillo family of Stockton – before making the decision to pull the death penalty off the…
Continue reading ›Stars & Stripes reports on the continuing trial of United States v. Wickware. The wife of a Spangdahlem Air Base airman charged with murder in the abuse death of his infant son testified at his court-martial Monday. Note the comment of an experienced military judge about how difficult these cases can be for the fact-finder…
Continue reading ›SCOTUSBlog reports their “petition of the day,” which is a criminal evidence case with potential relevance to military justice practitioners – Childers v. Florida, if granted. Issue two is: 2. Should the Court resolve a conflict in the Circuits and clarify whether its Confrontation Clause precedents, Olden v. Kentucky, 488 U.S. 227 (1988), Delaware v.…
Continue reading ›Giannelli on Junk Science and the Willingham Execution Paul C. Giannelli (Case Western Reserve University – School of Law) has posted The Execution of Cameron Todd Willingham: Junk Science, an Innocent Man, and the Politics of Death on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Cameron Todd Willingham was tried and executed for the arson deaths of…
Continue reading ›There is some reason to believe that the result in United States v. Fosler may only benefit him. Fosler objected at trial. It is believed that all of the Fosler trailers are either guilty plea cases or not guilty plea cases where the accused did not object at trial. There’s a good argument – stated…
Continue reading ›El Paso Times has a short piece on one of their native sons. When El Paso’s Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas was killed during an ambush in Haditha, Iraq, in 2005, a search for the perpetrators left 24 Iraqis dead. Investigators are still trying to find out the truth of what happened that day in the…
Continue reading ›The Press Enterprise reports: A military hearing over whether three Hawaii-based Marines should go to trial for alleged hazing of a squad member who later killed himself in Afghanistan concluded Friday and a commander will now make a final determination. Looks like some interesting litigation. Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents didn’t read the Marines their…
Continue reading ›
