Court-Martial Trial Practice

Some reporting of last weeks Article 39(a), UCMJ, hearing appears to attribute the military judge’s ruling to a desire to save the president embarrassment. I believe this is a gross distortion of a small part of what the military judge said. I was there and heard her read her findings and conclusions which were then…

Here is a link to the 3 September 2010 Federal Register for the recent MCM amendments signed by The President. And the humor you say – – – – Hat tip to Native and Natural Born Citizenship Explored blog (a not a birther blog).

San Diego online reports: Three San Diego Coast Guard boat crew members will face the military version of a preliminary hearing beginning Tuesday for the Dec. 20 crash that killed an 8-year-old Rancho Peñasquitos boy. The top charge, involuntary manslaughter, is against Ramos. Howell and Rasmussen are charged with negligent homicide. Coast Guard officials have…

Navy Times reports: The Navy says it’s unlikely to charge the parent who ran over and killed a 2-year-old at Norfolk Naval Station. But NCIS is still investigating. FindLaw Blotter reports: Walking down the drink aisle of the supermarket can be a daunting experience as the number of options seem to increase every day. One…

Found at birtherreport.com. LTC Lakin and Mr. Jensen will be on the Barry Farber radio tonight at 2000. Apparently the “embarrsassment” language was intended by the judge to alert Congress that they need to begin impeachment proceedings. Note, it is Article 46, UCMJ, 10 U.S. Code 846.

The spinning has begun, and yes there’s a pun in there, or at least an attempted one. Based on cherry-picked comments from a number of Lakin supporters it appears that all of this is merely the military judge saving the President “embarrassment.” They are grasping at a straw as a way to explain a complete…

NMCCA has released a number of decisions. Several have providency issues and issues not raised by appellate counsel. United States v. Messias. The court set-aside a finding of guilty to because of an inadequate providence inquiry. No sentence relief granted. While the providence inquiry establishes facts sufficient to demonstrate that the appellant drove on base…

I have just returned from watching most of the Article 39(a), UCMJ, hearing. (I left as the last item on the table was a defense request for Alan Keyes and LtGen McInerney.) To say that the military judge destroyed the defense arguments in detail would not be an overstatement. Although the military judge did politely…

TheAtlanticWire reports: Mother Jones’ Adam Weinstein reports that soldiers at Virginia’s Fort Eustis were recently punished for refusing to attend one of the many Christian evangelical events sponsored by the commanding base general and “self-professed ‘reborn’ officer, Maj. General James E. Chambers.” The incident and subsequent investigation have revealed a Fort Eustis culture where Christian…

Here is a link to the Executive Order signed 31 August 2010 with amendments to the Manual for Courts-Martial.