Court-Martial Trial Practice

David Vincent Weber arrived last month at a Ramona Veterans of Foreign Wars event in style: two stars on his shoulder and two Purple Heart medals pinned on the front of a Marine Corps uniform. Weber, 69, appeared in a federal courtroom in downtown San Diego yesterday with considerably less pomp. He faces a charge…

Discovery obligations apply to court-martial motions practice, for example when there is to be a suppression hearing. The government has a mandatory duty to disclose evidence in its possession that is favorable to the defense, “either because it was exculpatory or of impeachment value . . . .” . The government breaches the duty established…

A man accused of posing as a Marine major general at a Veterans of Foreign Wars party in Ramona to celebrate the birthday of the Marine Corps was arraigned Wednesday on a federal misdemeanor charge of making false claims about military decorations or medals. San Diego News Network reports.

The family of Evan Vela, an imprisoned former soldier from Parker, is expressing gratitude for a Christmas donation to his wife and children. The donation came about through efforts by a national organization to support soldiers accused of crimes related to the war on terrorism. reports Standard Journal.

State Department investigators say Chief Engineman (SW) Arturo Puente at Jacksonville’s Mayport Naval Station has used a false name for the last 22 years while working at U.S. embassies in Rome and Panama, according to the Florida Times-Union newspaper. Navy Times reports. No indications of a court-martial or any UCMJ violations.

Here is Randy Wilson’s letter to his children about being a trial lawyer. His thoughts are equally applicable to both sides in a court-martial. Two of my children decided to go to law school. One just passed the bar exam, and the other is in the third year of law school. This is a letter…

Federal law should govern a federal NCIS search on a military base for evidence of a murder of a civilian employee on the base that ends up prosecuted in state court. The court finds that this is a narrow issue in this case. The security search of defendant’s car on the military base was also…

I follow futurelawyer.com because he has one of the great sites for lawyers like myself who travel with an office-in-the-briefcase. Here is an interesting blog for the end of the year. No this isn’t a gadget or a piece of software. But the “procedure” may come in handy. Hopefully it doesn’t bowl you over with…

Airman 1st Class Corey Hernandez pulled the trigger. Nothing was supposed to happen, except the metallic click of the hammer striking the firing pin. Instead, the pistol fired. Until Dec. 10, when the 23-year-old Garcia died, the Air Force had not had any reported incidents of airmen playing Trust. Air Force Times reports Troops have…

Thanks to howappealing.law.com, here is a Ohio State Supreme Court opinion in State v. Smith. The issue is warrantless searches of cell-phones. While this issue may have been raised in a court-martial, I don’t see a relevant military appellate decision. So the issue is apparently an open one for court-martial cases. Here is a link…