Court-Martial Trial Practice

Background on the DP (courtesy of CAAFLog): Since the military death penalty was reinstated in 1984, there have been 15 known military death sentences. Two were set aside in the initial CA’s action. Eight have been set aside on direct appeal. In three of those cases, retrials or resentencing proceedings are still in their very…

Here is one for the what was he thinking category. Eugene Volokh, Lawyer Disbarred for Switching Vote as a Juror Solely in Order To Return To His Busy Law Practice, 11 March 2009. And what else was he thinking? Of course, if Fahy had only remained quiet about his true motivation (something he initially revealed…

Drew Brooks, Kreutzer enters guilty plea, no longer faces death penalty, FayObserver.com, 11 March 2009. Some observations (on the article, and assuming the article is correct). There is no word in the article about how the family is taking this and what role they did or did not play in the negotiations. As we’ve discussed…

Every so often do you get a file and you can’t open it? Check its file extension. The file extension comes at the end of the name of the file and is [dot].bz, and is a key to the name of the software program that created the file. .bz If you go to OpenWith.org you…

Every now and again a client wants to object to giving a DNA sample once at the Brig. Objections based on religion, the First Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, and the Fifth Amendment, won’t work. Pursuant to congressional authorization, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) established the Combined DNA Index System (“CODIS”), a national database containing…

This issue of journalists and privilege — and considerations of a Shield Law — is not new to military practice. A proposed privilege is circulating around Congress and other high offices. Here is a piece by Prof. Colin Miller of Evidence Prof Blog, writing this time for the Yale Law Journal’s Pocket Part — A…

You have to love it, Thomas E. Ricks, Throwing money away from the problem, The New ForeignPolicy.com, 9 March 2009. Remember, do not take fees in cash or by check from a client such as this. Get it on plastic, or from a relatives own funds.

There are several times in a trial when I might ask the judge for a no contact order, to sequester witnesses, or to prohibit witness contact during a break or recess in the trial. I have a fairly standard format for rape and child abuse cases. These in my experience are the cases where the…

Here’s a interesting reference to the Siegelman political prosecution case. No Reversal Despite Juror Exposure To Internet Information, Media Accounts And E-mail, 10 March 2009. Eleventh Circuit agrees with trial court, after a hearing with all twelve jurors, that exposure to an unredacted copy of the Second Superseding Indictment, a book concerning the role of…

The Supreme Court has decided Vermont v. Brillon. The case is a Sixth Amendment speedy trial case. The significant delays in the accused getting to trial were caused by Brillon’s public defender counsel or himself. The bottom line issue is who is accountable for those delays — the government or the defense. Brillon was, to…