Court-Martial Trial Practice

A search warrant for drugs and possible records of drug sales did not permit officers to enter defendant’s computer where the execution of the warrant produced no evidence of drug sales on the premises. (There was also a Franks violation because the officer represented a neighbor’s report of drug use and drug sales, but the…

Does the SODDI defense work? Here are some thoughts or considerations. Elizabeth R. Tenney, Hayley M.D. Cleary, Barbara A. Spellman, “This Other Dude Did It!” A Test of the Alternative Explanation Defense, 21 The Jury Expert July 2009.

Valerie Blum, Alexandra Rudolph, From the Conference Room to the Courtroom: How a Change in Setting Affects Witness Preparation, 21 The Jury Expert, July 2009.

Seventh Circuit determines that admission of an audiotape of robbery defendant beating and threatening the life of a potential witness was a “close[ ] call” but that its probative value in suggesting defendant’s guilty conscience “cannot be genuinely disputed” and that this evidence was not unfairly prejudicial despite the fact that one could hear the…

Confession(s) To Make: Florida Court Orders Separate Trials Of Former Football Players Based Upon Bruton Issues In Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123 (1968), the Supreme Court held that when there is a joint trial of a defendant and a co-defendant, the admission into evidence of the non-testifying co-defendant’s out-of-court confession violates the Confrontation…

I have previously mentioned several cases affecting military justice that will be argued next term. Check the Maryland v. Shatzer SCOTUSwiki page throughout the summer for additional updates. Argument Preview The Fifth Amendment provides that “[n]o person . . . shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.” Miranda protects…

Court martial set Monday for autistic Marine, plea bargain likely A court martial is set for [this past] Monday at Camp Pendleton for a 21-year-old Marine from Orange County accused of desertion, possession of child pornography and fraudulent enlistment. The case will likely end up in a plea bargain with the Marine admitting guilt to…

Death and Pvt Loving, 20 Jul7 2009.

Lily Gordon, Fort Benning hustles to adapt to JAG office loss – this past Monday, apparently due to arson, Ledger-enquirer.com, 17 July 2009. No-one was injured. This story appears in today’s Ledger-enquirer.com. Saturday, Jul. 18, 2009, Former Fort Benning employee pleads guilty to JAG arson A former Fort Benning civilian employee has pleaded guilty to…

Dwight Sullivan at CAAFLog has posted this: On 1 and 2 October, the Judge Advocate General of the Air Force will present a CLE conference at the George Mason School of Law in Arlington, Virginia. The program is open to active duty, reserve, and retired personnel, as well as to civilian attorneys. The program’s cost…