Court-Martial Trial Practice

A young Coast Guard petty officer faced the military courtroom with tears in her eyes Wednesday and told the two teams of lawyers the intimate, personal details of her sex life with her former lover, who was sitting across the room at the defense table. The woman, who is the second lover to have taken…

North Carolina Judges James Wynn of Raleigh (JAGC, USNR) and Albert Diaz of Charlotte (former Marine JA), on their path to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, breezed through a brief confirmation hearing in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, facing just a handful of questions from three senators. News Observer reports.

Rumor has it that there are now 12 trial counsel assigned to the prosecution of Major Nidal Malik Hasan, at least one of whom has military death penalty litigation experience. The defense remains at three with Mr. Galligan and two military defense counsel, none of whom have death penalty experience under the UCMJ. The Army…

The wrongful use of prescription medications is an offense under Article 112a, UCMJ. About one in four soldiers admit to abusing prescription drugs, most of them pain relievers, in a one-year period, according to a Pentagon health survey released Wednesday. The study, which surveyed more than 28,500 U.S. troops last year, showed that about 20…

An Army captain from Evergreen, accused of ordering Iraqi officers to kill two Iraqi civilians, will find out in the next few weeks if his case will go before a court martial. The United States Military “preferred” one count of reckless endangerment and two counts of premeditated murder against Capt. Carl Bjork on Nov. 3.…

A Palm Springs man who surprised former classmates at his high school reunion in Martinez when he showed up in a Marine Corps uniform has pleaded guilty to wearing military medals that he never earned. He will face as much as a year in prison and up to a $100,000 fine when he is sentenced…

A first draft challenge

An airman from Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., allegedly shot and killed another airman Friday while the two were playing a game with a handgun. Marine Times reports.

Ohio holds today (4-3) that a cell phone search requires a warrant without exigent circumstances. Therefore, it was not subject to a search incident. Today’s cell phones are analogous to a computer. State v. Smith, 2009 Ohio 6426 (December 15, 2009). FourthAmendment blog reports. Seems there ought to be similar results for a military search…

A Fort Benning soldier has been sentenced to life in a military prison for the slaying of an Army trainee who was repeatedly stabbed with a knife in his barracks last year. Reports WDBJ7.com. A hearing will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday for Capt. Herbert “Mark” Hamilton III, who was charged Nov. 3 with…