Court-Martial Trial Practice

Not completely off topic, the Army Times reports: Soldiers are dangerously starving themselves, gobbling diet pills and laxatives — even going under the knife in costly liposuction surgery — all to meet the Army’s weight standards and avoid losing their careers.

Military.com reports: A Navy intelligence specialist stationed at Fort Bragg is in custody after an investigation revealed he allegedly sold top secret documents to an undercover FBI agent posing as a foreign intelligence officer. Apparently there were two meetings at which approximately four documents were handed over in exchange for a total of $3,000.00. Politics.co.uk…

Edgar Leopold Kranz. I have not received an answer to my email on his Facebook page. But a number of newspapers are reporting that (now) Master Sergeant Kranz was stationed at Minot AB. He was promoted t MSgt in 2006. Air Force Times is reporting he retired in March 2010.

I have always taken the view that disclosure of bad information about witnesses is a self-executing duty on trial counsel. I make this point because trial counsel often refuse to look into the background of it’s witnesses until the MJ orders that. The military judge properly concluded the government “had an obligation to provide that…

They will get you under Article 134, UCMJ. Appeals Court Frees Ex-Principal: Panel rules that altered photos were not child pornography because the nude bodies were those of an adult. A three-judge panel of the Second District Court of Appeal in Lakeland ruled Friday that photographs he had were not child pornography because the nude…

PTA provisions depriving an appellant of parole and clemency consideration under generally applicable procedures are unenforceable under R.C.M. 705(c)(1)(B). United States v. Tate, 64 M.J. 269, 272 (C.A.A.F. 2007).

The big news in the presidential pardons world is that President Obama has finally granted nine pardons. Pardon Power blog reports: 682 days into his presidency, Barack Obama has finally discovered the clemency power by granting 9 pardons. One of the nine is a military case from 1994 in which the accused was sentenced to…

Everyone remembers Pierce and Pierce credit – right. DMLHS at CasaCAAFLog has found this interesting opinion from the federal district court. This case is before the court on defendant’s motion to dismiss (no. 6). At issue is whether the United States government, consistent with the constitutional requirement of due process, may prosecute a military servicemember…

Here is a new piece of information from wing nut daily: Lieutenant Colonel Terrence Lakin, a distinguished Army flight surgeon, is “certain” to be convicted of disobeying orders, according to his lawyer, Neil Puckett. Notice he does not apparently address the missing movement. Maybe the “specific” movement issue is a winner? See below. “Based on…

CAAF has decided three cases, Blazier of course being one of them. I was the trial defense counsel in the case so no comment from me on the case so far. Here is the brief for petitioner in Bullcoming v. New Mexico. Professor Friedman has posted this at his excellent confrontationblog site. I had anticipated…