Overview by Philip D. Cave of Cave & Freeburg, LLP The U.S. Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals (AFCCA) decided this case on March 17, 2026. Airman First Class Noah Bogert pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter (Article 119, UCMJ) after negligently shooting and killing his fellow airman, BA, during a self-initiated “house clearing” exercise at…
Continue reading ›In In re LB, the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals addressed an important discovery issue in a pending court-martial: when may a military judge allow the defense to seek limited information about a complaining witness’s medical or mental health treatment? The court denied the victim’s request for emergency relief and allowed the military judge’s…
Continue reading ›In United States v. Fischer, the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals explained how military appellate courts interpret plea agreements and what an appellant must show to set aside a term of sentence as inconsistent with the agreement. The decision matters because plea agreements often control the most important part of a court-martial: sentencing. The…
Continue reading ›United States v. Navarro · ARMY 20250171 · Army Court of Criminal Appeals · March 30, 2026 What Happened An Army Specialist pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography under Article 134 of the UCMJ. His defense lawyer negotiated a plea deal that kept him out of prison entirely. The only punishment: a bad-conduct discharge. No…
Continue reading ›A change to Article 66, UCMJ, has created difficulties in interpreting and applying the factual sufficiency standard of review and in deciding whether a charge should be set aside. Note: this change only affects cases where ALL findings of guilt are based on conduct alleged to have been committed before 1 January 2021. If it’s…
Continue reading ›In re LB, Misc. Dkt. No. 2025-14 Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals — Decided 19 March 2026 OVERVIEW The AFCCA denied all three prongs of victim LB’s petition for a writ of mandamus, filed under Article 6b(a)(9), UCMJ, arising from the ongoing general court-martial of TSgt Irvin Bryant Jr. at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling. Bryant…
Continue reading ›The First Amendment follows you into uniform, but it does not follow you the same way. Service members who do not understand where the line falls often cross it without knowing—and pay with their careers. This informational post is brought to you by Cave & Freeburg, LLP, at court-martial.com. A soldier posts a video criticizing…
Continue reading ›United States v. Rivera, NMCCA No. 202400304 (Nov. 13, 2025) Court: Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals Panel: Senior Judge Gross (author), Chief Judge Daly, Judge de Groot Result: Affirmed What Happened On October 14, 2022, Private First Class Nathan Rivera attended a party at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. Rivera took two tabs of…
Continue reading ›United States v. Guinsler — Case Summary, prepared by Phil Cave of Cave & Freeburg, LLP What the Court Decided in Guinsler In January 2026, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia indicted Army soldier James Isaac Guinsler on four counts of coercion and enticement of a child and one count of…
Continue reading ›On March 25, 2026, the United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals issued its decision in United States v. Williams-Clark (ARMY 20230185). The court set aside a sexual assault conviction — one that carried a two-year confinement term — not on the merits, but because the verdict itself was fatally ambiguous. The military judge convicted…
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