Court-Martial Trial Practice

Prof. Colin Miller, Can I Get A(n Eye) Witness: 60 Minutes Story Exposes Problems With Eyewitness IDs, Evidence Prof Blog, 9 March 2009. Those of you who watched 60 Minutes last night saw the interesting story, Eyewitness: How Accurate is Visual Memory? And the answer is, “Not very.” The story detailed how Jennifer Thompson misidentified…

Worth the read is Gustav Eyler, Gangs in the Military, 118 Yale L. J. 696 (2009). Gang activity in the U.S. military is increasing. Gang members undermine good order and discipline in the armed services and pose a serious threat to military and civilian communities. Congress recently responded to this threat by directing the Secretary…

American Chronicle reports that Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) has proposed legislation called the Terrorist Detainees Procedures Act. Here is the link to H.R. 1315. Here is a link to the congressman’s Guantanamo Detainees Procedures Act of 2005.

Yes, the Bluebook is now online, with yes, a paid subscription. A new annual subscription is $25.00. Subsequent annual renewals are $15.00. Subscriptions of up to three years may be purchased at the current rate. Here are the free “Bluebooks” from the military appellate courts. Air Force.Army.Coast-Guard.Navy-Marine Corps.Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

Melanie D. Wilson, Finding a Happy and Ethical Medium Between a Prosecutor Who Believes the Defendant Didn’t Do It and the Boss Who Says That He Did, 103 Nw. U. L. Rev. Colloquy 65 (2008). The trial counsel (prosecutor)[n.1] works for the SJA, the SJA works for and advises the convening authority, the convening authority…

Here’s a link to attorney Bridget Wilson’s article on the model state code of military justice for the National Guard, that is available on NIMJ’s website. BRIDGET J. WILSON, MODEL STATE CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE FOR THE NATIONAL GUARD NOT IN FEDERAL SERVICE, Justice for the Military’s Minotaurs 6/6/2007. tip: CAAFLog and NIMJ.

In 2003, Congress directed the Secretary of Defense to produce a Model State Code of Military Justice. This Code is intended to be adopted by all of the states for use when dealing with misconduct by personnel in Title 32 status. The idea is to try and have a “uniform” state code rather than 50+…

In addition to action under MEJA involving contractors in Iraq, a civilian spouse in Okinawa is headed for a U.S. District Court trial for the death of his stepson on Okinawa. David Allen, Accused stepdad awaits transfer, Stars &Stripes, 6 March 2009. The Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act of 2000The MEJA was approved by Congress and…

In writing a piece this weekend I came across this excellent article by Pat Grant on Extraordinary Relief, it’s worth reading and filing in your trial notebook. Captain Patrick B. Grant, ARTICLE: Extraordinary Relief: A Primer for Trial Practitioners, 2008 Army Law. 30 (November, 2008).

Fifth Amendment Privilege was not violated by compelling the defendant to provide an unencrypted version of his laptop drive containing suspected child pornography to the government, in In re Boucher, (D.Vt. Feb. 19, 2009) (No. 2:06-mj-91) (2009 WL 424718) (unpublished) (“Boucher II“) Can the government compel an individual to provide a password to examine the…