Court-Martial Trial Practice

Prof. Miller brings us this. Federal Rule of Evidence 609(b) states the following: (b) Limit on Using the Evidence After 10 Years. This subdivision (b) applies if more than 10 years have passed since the witness’s conviction or release from confinement for it, whichever is later. Evidence of the conviction is admissible only if: (1)…

United States v. Pearson, 80 M.J. ___ (N-M Ct. Crim. App. 2021). Sentence adjudged 25 July 2019 by a general court-martial convened at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, consisting of officer and enlisted members. Sentence in the Entry of Judgment: confinement for eight months and a duck dinner. Appellant asserts four assignments of error…

APPELLATE ADVOCACY Tessa Dysart at Appellate Advocacy Blog posts, ““This is Not Proper Appellate Advocacy”: Third Circuit Slaps Sanctions on Attorney Who Copied and Pasted Trial Court Briefs. The attorney was ordered to personally pay the defendant’s costs. For a historical segue—you might remember that the NMCCA once had a problem of cut-and-pasting, largely wholesale…

Here’s is a timely reminder about prosecution experts. This report comes from NBC news. For more than three years, authorities in the state of Washington considered Dr. Elizabeth Woods one of their go-to experts in cases of suspected child abuse, often relying on her medical opinions to determine when to take children from parents or…

If approved by a federal court, the legal settlement will force the Army to review the discharges of recent veterans with mental health issues. Tens of thousands of former soldiers with less than honorable discharges from the Army might get upgrades soon. In late March, a federal judge is expected to approve a nationwide class…

Read National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) v. Austin, Sec. Def. “Various statutory provisions and regulations require the U.S. Department of Defense (“DoD”) to maintain a publicly accessible website containing all decisions rendered by its Discharge Review Boards and Boards for Correction of Military/Naval Records.” We all like to refer to these prior decisions to…

On 10 March 2021, the CAAF granted a petition in U.S. v. Michael P. Whiteeyes on the following issue: WHETHER THE MILITARY JUDGE COMMITTED PREJUDICIAL ERROR BY ADMITTING APPELLANT’S STATEMENTS TO LAW ENFORCEMENT IN VIOLATION OF MILITARY RULE OF EVIDENCE 304(c). The ACCA decision is here. An enlisted panel convicted the appellant of one specification…

Appellant asserts the military judge erred by failing to suppress his statements to AFOSI, but he focuses on a different portion of the interview than did the Defense’s motion at trial. At trial, the Defense conceded Appellant effectively waived his rights to counsel and silence after the agents re-advised of his rights following the ten-minute…

I was doing some reading of judicial qualifications, especially for appointment to CAAF. On a side note, it appears that 12 U. S. Supreme Court justices did not take the bar after having first graduated law school and receiving a law degree—notably Justice Robert H. Jackson, of Nuremberg fame, is one; he combined some law…

The Appellate Advocacy Blog brings, Tips for Delivering A Persuasive Closing Statement, by Adam Lamparello Closing argument is among the most critical parts of a trial, as it provides attorneys with one final opportunity to persuade the jury to rule in their favor. Below are tips to maximize the persuasive value of a closing argument.…