Court-Martial Trial Practice

ACCA has issued a memorandum opinion in United States v. England, ARMY 20051170 (A. Ct. Crim. App. 10 September 2009). [A]ppellant claims, inter alia, that (1) the military judge abused his discretion when he rejected her guilty plea; (2) appellant’s trial defense counsel were ineffective for calling Private (PVT) Charles Graner as a presentencing witness,…

Need to find a current address for a witness in a case? Boxbreaker, Slang for a form used by the United States Post Office. Its called Request for Boxholder Information for Service of Legal Process. Take the form to the nearest Post Office to your targets last know address and the U.S Postmaster will provide…

Quite a few people are twittering and blogging about Congressman Joe Wilson’s recent behavior during the President’s speech to Congress. The basic claim is that he is subject to court-martial. Maybe, maybe not. Here is what he has on his biography on his official site: Throughout his life, Joe has also had a tremendous passion…

I’ve already noted that Briscoe is a very interesting follow-on to Melendez-Diaz about the use of forensic analysis reports at trial where the chemist is not called as a witness. See here, here, and here. Here is a link to the Brief just filed on behalf of the 07-11191 Briscoe v. Commonwealth of Virginia Brief…

Marine sentenced to eight years for death in ‘trust me’ game September 10, 2009 7:49 PM, by Amanda Hickey, of JDNews.com (Photo: Don Bryan) A Camp Lejeune Marine pleaded guilty Thursday to pointing a weapon at seven Marines and one sailor in a deadly game that left one Marine dead. Cpl. Mathew R. Nelson pleaded…

This story is out by Kate Wiltrout of The Virginian-Pilot, September 10, 2009 NORFOLK A naval officer accused of sexually assaulting a junior enlisted sailor has pleaded guilty to two charges but maintains he did not commit assault. A military judge is slated to sentence Lt. Jerome H. Randolph later today. Under the terms of…

SCOTUSBlog has provided this excellent summary of panels over the next few weeks which will address past and pending issues before the court. Not all of the issues may be relevant to day to day lawyering in a court-martial setting, but worth considering. A reminder that SCOTUSBlog is the best website out there with relevant…

AF Academy Major Sentenced In Sex Crimes AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AP) ― An Air Force Academy major has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for rape and other sex crimes. Academy officials said Wednesday that Maj. Barry Nixon was convicted by a court-martial panel of raping a girl in Germany in 2003. Nixon…

Lesbian GI Seeks Asylum in Canada September 10, 2009, Agence France-Presse, reported on Military.com A lesbian who deserted the U.S. military has requested asylum in Canada, claiming she faced harassment and death threats from fellow Soldiers over her sexual orientation, media said Wednesday.

Lejeune corpsman pleads guilty during court martial September 09, 2009 7:18 PM, AMANDA HICKEY, JDNews.com A Camp Lejeune hospital corpsman pleaded guilty Wednesday during special court martial proceedings to reckless endangerment for pointing a pistol at the chest of a lance corporal while deployed to Iraq. See the earlier post on DYTM.