SCOTUSBlog notes two new petitions with potential impact on a court-martial practice under the UCMJ. Title: NIBCO, Inc. v. Rivera Docket: 10-383 Issue(s): (1) Whether a court of appeals must conduct a comparative juror analysis when reviewing a claim under Batson v. Kentucky, even though the comparative analysis was neither raised before nor considered by…
Continue reading ›The other day I had posted about the unauthorized release of the Stryker Brigade Article 32 report and a Coast Guard report on the San Diego Bay incident. My question at the time was an appearing trend of unauthorized releases of Article 32, UCMJ, investigation reports. There is more on the Stryker Brigade case. The…
Continue reading ›Air Force Times reports that: The court-martial of Airman 1st Class Dustin A. Miller will begin Nov. 8. The security forces patrolman faces charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon, aggravated assault inflicting grievous bodily harm and assault with the intent to commit murder. See prior postings about the Mackie (Trask) case…
Continue reading ›“Now what I want is, Facts.. . . Stick to Facts Sir!” (Charles Dickens, Hard Times, p. 1, Oxford World’s Classics, 1998.) Evidence may be admissible under Mil. R. Evid. 803(8) as an exception to the hearsay rule. Prof. Colin Miller reminds us that the exception is intended to cover recorded facts, not opinions.
Continue reading ›AP reports: Two women testified at a military hearing Tuesday that they would not have had sex with an airman had they known he was HIV positive, and one said she believed him when he said he wasn’t because he was in the Air Force. Professor Friedman has put up the transcript of argument in…
Continue reading ›Despite the political rhetoric LTC Lakin’s case has given us a number of teaching moments or opportunity to refresh on some basic practice principles. 1. Can LTC Lakin change lawyers at this stage. The answer in this case is probably yes. Although technically Mr. Jensen should submit a motion to be released and the new…
Continue reading ›CNN has this report on the Morlock Article 32, UCMJ, hearing. A U.S. soldier accused of killing civilians in Afghanistan should face a court-martial on murder and other charges, an Army officer has recommended. The recommendation, included in a document obtained by CNN, comes after prosecutors laid out their evidence against Spc. Jeremy Morlock in…
Continue reading ›Army Times reports: A military officer has ordered a mental evaluation for the suspect in the November Fort Hood shootings before a key hearing next week. Earlier this year, Army officials appointed a three-member board of military mental health professionals to determine whether Maj. Nidal Hasan is competent to stand trial and his mental status…
Continue reading ›AP reports: A U.S. Coast Guard investigating officer has found no legal justification for the deadly collision of a Coast Guard boat with a smaller vessel in San Diego Bay that killed an 8-year-old boy, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday. San Diego 6 reports: [The] investigating officer has rejected claims by three crew members…
Continue reading ›AFCCA issued an opinion in United States v. Rettinghouse today. It was an Article 62, UCMJ, appeal, with some teaching points. I note this issue arose because of – yes – trial counsel discovery violations, and then a refusal to accede to the judge’s remedy of producing witnesses for the defense. See a post here.…
Continue reading ›
