Court-Martial Trial Practice

Carissa Byrne Hessick, Disentangling CP from Child Sex Abuse, 88 Washington L. Rev. __ (2010). Recent years have seen a significant increase in the criminal penalties associated with possession of child pornography. The new severity appears to be premised on arguments that blur the distinction between those who possess images of child pornography and those…

Here are the military justice related articles in the new Army Lawyer. Searching for Reasonableness—The Supreme Court Revisits the Fourth Amendment “I’ve Got to Admit It’s Getting Better”*: New Developments in Post-Trial The Impact of Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts on Admissibility of Forensic Test Results at Courts-Martial Armed for the Attack: Recent Developments in Impeachment Evidence…

Kate Wiltrout of Virginia Pilot reports that: Prosecutors handling the courts-martial of two local Navy SEALs charged with not stopping a teammate’s alleged assault on an Iraqi detainee faced another setback Friday. Cmdr. Tierney Carlos agreed to exclude a statement made by one of the SEALs to the special agent investigating the allegations in September…

Sentencing Law & Policy reports: This remarkable local story out of Montana, which is headlined “Man blames PTSD for child pornography downloads,” reports on another notable sentence break given to a notable child porn offense. Here are the details, which spotlight many of the hottest issues in current federal sentencing debates: An Iraq war veteran…

I posted the other day about an 11th Circuit decision on extra-territoriality of 18 U. S. Code 2251A. Here is an article, courtesy of CrimProfBlog that may be of some interest on that subject. Jeffrey A. Meyer (Quinnipiac University – School of Law) has posted Dual Illegality and Geoambiguous Law: A New Rule for Extraterritorial…

I’ve posted before about issues with forensic testing and police controlled laboratories (including military drug testing laboratories). Here is an article from my old crim law professor, a former Army JA. You’ve also heard me frequently talk about confirmatory bias in regard to police investigations and other investigations. Paul C. Gianelli, Independent Crime Laboratories: The…

Thanks to Federal Evidence Review for a good summary of cases and issues involving 404(b) issues in federal courts.

New York Times reports: The former military surgeon and Medtronic consultant accused of falsifying research about the benefits of a bone-growth product used on soldiers injured in Iraq is now under investigation for a possible court-martial, officials at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center said Wednesday. The investigation will determine if there is sufficient evidence…

FoxNews reports that: Hall, a soldier out of Fort Stewart in Georgia, recorded a rap song last July called “Stop Loss” after he was notified that his military contract was being extended. Army soldiers who are “stop-lossed” must complete additional tours of duty. In his song, Hall raps about walking up to soldiers and “surprising…

Thanks to OpinoJuris for pointing us to the 11th Circuit decision in United States v. Frank. You will recollect that CAAF has found that the CP related statutes don’t apply overseas. Here is part of the OJ summary. The Eleventh Circuit upheld the conviction finding that (1) Miranda warnings were unnecessary; (2) the statute applied…