The Joint Service Committee on Military Justice has submitted its subcommittee’s Prosecutorial Authority Study report in response to § 540F of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020. The report, which cost the taxpayers $109,000 (that’s $1185 per page, if you don’t count the appendices), can be found here. There’s also a one-page…
Continue reading ›Just Security discusses minimization of civilian casualties beyond that required by military necessity. Against this backdrop, an important symposium series, “Civilian Casualties: The Law of Prevention and Response,” is kicking off on Wednesday (September 30) at noon EDT. The series is intended to promote deeper discussion and greater understanding of the broad range of considerations…
Continue reading ›NNY360 says, The Fort Drum soldier charged with carrying a “ghost gun” at a Black Lives Matter protest in June in Troy has left the Army. A Fort Drum official confirmed Noah Latham, 22, is no longer in the Army, as of Aug. 31. Mr. Latham was “separated administratively” from the Army, the official said.…
Continue reading ›The Jeffrey MacDonald murder case: A timeline of a major events. One of North Carolina’s most infamous murder cases is back in the national spotlight, with the release this week of the FX documentary series “A Wilderness of Error.” Former Green Beret Army doctor Jeffrey MacDonald was convicted in 1979 of the murders of his…
Continue reading ›We do that–right. Make an issue of the MCIO failures to investigate, their tunnel vision, their confirmation bias, and overall bias. Here’s an Article that might help. Lisa Steele, Investigating and Presenting an Investigative Omission Defense. 57 CRIM. L. BULL. (2021) (Forthcoming). “This paper explores defense challenges to the adequacy of police investigations, and investigative…
Continue reading ›NMCCA published new rules effective 1 July 2020. Not this change. I’m agnostic whether this change will add confusion or not for the litigants. Rule 17.5. Table of Pseudonyms. (a) With the exception of merits briefs, all initial briefs in support of an appeal or petition shall include a separate table of pseudonyms filed with…
Continue reading ›14 September 2020, the court issued a published opinion in United States v. Livak, it’s a Moreno case analyzed with the new rules in mind. Appellant claims that his due process rights were violated when his case was not docketed with this court within 30 days of the convening authority’s action as required by United…
Continue reading ›A colleague provided this thought. “just got a call from a former Army member, who in 2005, decided that he didn’t want a second tour in Iraq, went AWOL for @ 2 months; turned himself in, but had hot pee for both THC and cocaine and for good measure, called a 2LT MP who ordered…
Continue reading ›I refer from time to time to court-martial decisions from other countries. Obviously, they are not dispositive here, but there can be some interesting arguments or points come from them, which is why I bring you R v. Jordan, a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada addressing court-martial speedy trial issues. In Jordan the…
Continue reading ›Prof. Cole at CrimProfBlog brings us, Nathan Lilly (Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University) has posted The ‘High Skies’: Establishing Venue for Prosecutions of Crimes Aboard Aircraft (57 Crim L. Bull., no. 1, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: A fundamental concept in criminal procedure is that the trial must…
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