Court-Martial Trial Practice

Army Times reports.The Army says a soldier who returned to a hero’s welcome in Wisconsin misrepresented his rank, badges and the origin of his injuries. FayObserver reports: The 11th juror was provisionally seated in the court-martial of Army Master Sgt. Timothy B. Hennis on Wednesday. The court-martial, a capital murder trial, needs a minimum of…

Points of interest to military justice from the current General Counsel to the Department of Defense:’ Development of the rules of practice and procedure for Military Commissions. The Department regularly consults with and takes input from defense counsel involved in the Commissions and GitMo related matters. This would be a better practice, and IMHO shows…

Chief Judge Effron opens with introductory remarks. In particular he solicited input on future conference topics and speakers. As many know there has been criticism over the last few years about the focus of the conference. Here is an opportunity to contribute to next years conference. All are encouraged to submit recommendations to Ms. Barbara…

The prosecution of SPC Ivette Davila, at Fort Lewis, will generate some interest; hers will be the first death penalty prosecution of a woman under the UCMJ. Checking – has a woman ever been executed as a result of a court-martial in the United States? The answer is no under the UCMJ. The two most…

Seattle Times reports. A woman accused of killing two fellow soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord and kidnapping their baby in 2008 will face a general court-martial after military authorities determined last week there was enough evidence to move forward with the case. The News Tribune reports this is a death penalty referral (seems like a…

FourthAmendment blog reports a new case: Police reports were “deceptive and deficient,” but the court believes officer without a credibility determination: Ties go to the runner, or the government. The court finds the officer deceptive and believes him anyway because of a presumption police officers tell the truth [even when their reports are “deceptive and…

A case pending at the U.S. Supreme Court was recently settled out of court, and the case withdrawn from consideration. It appears that there has been a settlement of $12M, for prosecutorial misconduct. “This means prosecutors who step outside their traditional role and who act as investigators (in criminal cases) can still be subject to…

Stars & Stripes reports. The Army recently asked 45 of its soldiers in the highest enlisted rank to retire for substandard performance, past criminal convictions, problems with alcohol, fraternization or sexual harassment in their recent pasts. Of the 45 sergeants major whose records were flagged under the newly reinstituted Qualitative Management Program, 28 complied, putting…

Here’s the scenario: Client is convicted at court-martial. Sentencing is to take place the next day, or a Monday after a Friday conviction. Based on the charges and the evidence there’s a reasonable likelihood the client will get some confinement. The command wants to put the client in pretrial confinement pending sentencing. Can they? 1.…

There are a number of ways denial of counsel of choice can come up, most frequently related to the availability of civilian counsel. Here’s an interesting one. United States v. Gonzalez-Lopez, 548 U.S. 140 (2006). The opinion is written by Justice Scalia. Here are the important part of the opinion: In sum, the right at…