Court-Martial Trial Practice

Today the court will hear oral argument in Premo v. Moore, a case with potential ramifications for court-martials. Courtesy of SCOTUSBlog here is a summary: The Sixth Amendment secures a criminal defendant’s right to effective assistance of counsel. Under Strickland v. Washington (1984), that right is violated when a lawyer’s performance falls below an objective…

Lots of political rhetoric, name calling, and pithy evaluations continue about this court-martial case. But putting the chaff aside there have been and can be a number of teachable moments. It is unclear what role if any APF will continue to have in this case. The website and a recent email indicate a role limited…

Huffington Post has this piece about PMC’s and the UCMJ. It is common to complain that the while the use of private military contractors (PMC) has grown rapidly in the past decade, the legal apparatus to hold them accountable has failed to keep pace. But that is not as true as it once was. In…

In a court-martial under the court-martial UCMJ setting, can a PTA bind the prosecution/convening authority to something he or she has no control over — generally the conditions of confinement. There’s a teachable moment here for the court-martial practitioner. Air Force Times reports: The attorney for a former al-Qaida cook said Monday that the government…

Courtesy of Karen Franklin’s blog: The defense team for Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan has retained prominent forensic psychologist Xavier Amador. The New York-based expert has been involved in several high-profile cases involving the military, including those of PFC Lynndie England (of Abu Ghraib infamy) and U.S. Army sergeant Hasan Akbar, who killed two fellow…

Courtesy of cunninghamreport.com here are links to the Article 32, IO, report and recommendations. Ramos Charges Howell Charges Rasmussen Charges Couple of interesting points. Issues surrounding application and potential application of a privilege for safety investigations, a la Mil. R. Evid. 506. (a) General rule of privilege. Except where disclosure is required by an Act…

Inside Bay Area has a piece about corruption in the California National Guard. From 1986 until her retirement last year, Jaffe’s job with the California Army National Guard was to give away money — the federally subsidized student-loan repayments and cash bonuses — paid for by federal taxpayers nationwide — that the Guard is supposed…

I use Google Chrome for a browser so this wasn’t apparent to me. But Dr. C. at obamaconspiracy.org points out the following: I have no way of knowing whether LtC Terry Lakin authorized the use of his image to sell tax advice, bridge loans, auto liability insurance, and whatever other advertising attaches itself to his…

ACCA has released an opinion in United States v. Martinez. Here is the first issue: WHETHER A REASONABLE PERSON WOULD QUESTION THE TRIAL JUDGE’S IMPARTIALITY WHEN A SENIOR MILITARY JUDGE, WHO APPEARED TO HAVE ASSISTED THE GOVERNMENT DURING TRIAL, ENTERED THE TRIAL JUDGE’S CHAMBERS DURING RECESS AND DELIBERATIONS, IN VIOLATION OF APPELLANT’S RIGHT TO DUE…

Thanks to CrimProfBlog here is a link to an interesting post on Grits for Breakfast, with potential for relevance in a court-martial tried under the UCMJ, with examiners from USACIL and DCFL, etc. There was an astonishing moment yesterday at a breakout session on fingerprint examination at theTexas Forensic Science Seminar, at which Department of…