Court-Martial Trial Practice

There was a time when the military allowed people to learn from their mistakes. There were times that people were allowed to get away with “murder” under that philosophy. So times changed, largely as a result of the “zero tolerance” of drug abuse. So, more and more we have, it can be argued, reached a…

United States v. Hennis. Appellant’s case is before this Court for mandatory review under Article 67(a)(1), Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), 10 U.S.C. § 867(a)(1) (2012). Appellant has filed a consolidated motion requesting, in relevant part, appointment of appellate defense team members pursuant to the Army’s capital litigation regulation, as well as funding for…

Why Military Courts Won’t Prevent The Next Texas Church Shooting, in Stars & Stripes, repeated in Task & Purpose. Former airman Devin P. Kelley had choked his wife and put a gun to her head. He’d fractured her baby’s skull. He’d made threats to his commanders and he’d been committed to a mental hospital. Those…

Today, SCOTUSBlog tells about some grants and denials. One may be of interest to military justice practitioners. they denied review in an Alabama death-penalty case, over a lengthy dissent by Justice Sonia Sotomayor that was joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan. . . . That order drew a sharp 14-page dissent[.] Here…

It is always good to file or submit petitions and pleadings on time. Sometimes the due date can be complicated. Let’s say your due date falls on a Sunday? A federal holiday? Or??? Here is a thought from friend and colleague Dew Process. CAAF, in its decision in United States v. Rodriguez, 67 M.J. 110…

From CAAF Daily Journal of 2 November. No. 17-0507/AR. U.S. v. Orval W. Gould, Jr. CCA 20120727. On further consideration of Appellant’s certificate for review and the briefs of the parties, it is ordered that the first and second certified issues are answered in the negative, and therefore, no answer is provided to the third…

Andrew McCarthy writes in National Review about the recent NY terror case and President Trump’s off-the-cuff comments. In a well-reasoned piece, he makes the following point. Yet, just as law-enforcement officials must respect the policy judgments of their political superiors, the political authority must respect the need for independent administration of justice in individual cases.…

The USS Cole case judge Wednesday found the Marine general in charge of war court defense teams guilty of contempt for refusing to follow his orders and sentenced him to 21 days confinement and to pay a $1,000 fine. Air Force Col. Vance Spath also declared “null and void” a decision by Marine Brig. Gen.…

The Navy actions regarding the collisions of USS FITZGERALD and USS MCCAIN are starting to come more into focus. Here is a summary report from the Navy of some of the investigations. Here is the appointment of a Central Disposition Authority for disciplinary actions related to the collisions. A timeline of the FITZGERALD collision is…