Court-Martial Trial Practice

Kenneth Anderson, The Role of the United States Military Lawyer in Projecting a Vision of the Laws of War, 2 Chi. J. Int. L. 445 (Fall 2003). Kenneth Anderson, Professor of Law, Research Fellow, The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, Stanford University.

NMCCA today issued an important published opinion setting aside a finding of guilty to distribution of child pornography under 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(2). United States v. Craig, __ M.J. ___, No. NMCCA 200800716 (N-M. Ct. Crim. App. May 28, 2009). CAAFLog, 28 May 2009. AFCCA today issued a fascinating published opinion, which I’ve posted here.…

Joe Ryan, A swaggering defense attorney who authorities say turned his back on the law, The Star-Ledger (NJ.com), 31 May 2009. Last August, authorities say, Paul Bergrin traveled from Newark to Chicago hoping to meet a hit man. Bergrin, who investigators describe as a go-to lawyer for Newark street gangs, was working on the case…

Prof. Corey Yung has a very interesting post, one of several more to come, about how to measure judicial activism. As best I can tell it relates to the panel, rather than individual appellate judges. But non-the-less, it’s an interesting way to look at how activist a court may be. So, appellate judges are more…

USPO’s delivery guarantee creates no constitutional possessory interest in a package in transit: The post office delivery guarantee does not create a constitutional possessory interest such that US Postal Inspectors could delay a package in Juneau, Alaska for a dog sniff and a search warrant to open it before delivery. United States v. Jefferson, 2009…

Clients usually ask me if they should write their congressperson. My answer is invariably no – unless you are their son or daughter, or unless you give them thousands of dollars in campaign funds every year. For those who insist I always tell them to be careful what to say because that could come back…

Splitting 5-4, the Supreme Court on Tuesday overruled its 23-year-old ruling in Michigan v. Jackson on the rights of a criminal suspect in police custody who has asked for a lawyer. The Court did so in Montejo v. Louisiana (07-1529), in an opinion written by Justice Antonin Scalia. After Scalia announced the decision, Justice John…

This case shows one of the downsides of constantly having a cellphone at your side, pocket, or hip. A man is arrested. Pursuant to the Supreme Court’s opinion in United States v. Robinson, 414 U.S. 218 (1973), “[a] full search of the person, his effects, and the area within his immediate reach at the time…

I’ve noted before that people get nervous when stopped and questioned by the police. Being nervous is not by itself a sign that the person is lying or a criminal or doing something wrong. Although of course NCIS/OSI/CID will often say it is so. As the writer notes here, The very presence of a police…

The National District Attorney Association has a pending Third Edition to the National Prosecution Standards pending. You need a key to read it, gosh forbid the public might be allowed to know the standards, and perhaps comment on them.