Court-Martial Trial Practice

Other circuits have held that a prisoner may file a petition for a writ of habeas corpus if his sentencing court has been dissolved.” Id. at 1093 (quoting Prost v. Anderson, 636 F.3d578, 588 (10th Cir. 2011) (explaining that, for military prisoners, “the resort to § 2241 is the norm rather than the exception .…

From Prof. Berman at Sentencing Law & Policy. As reported in this press release, yesterday “Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Mike Lee (R-UT), Ted Cruz (R-TX), David Perdue (R-GA), and Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced legislation to strengthen criminal intent protections in federal law.” Here is more from the press release: Their bill, the Mens Rea Reform…

I have noticed an increase is improper prosecution arguments over the last five years — connected I think to sexual assault cases mostly. So here is an article of interest. Combating Prosecutor Misconduct in Closing Arguments, Oklahoma Law Review, Vol. 70, No. 3, Forthcoming From the abstract: Prosecutor misconduct in closing argument is rampant. Prosecutors…

I’ve been told more than once that a person doesn’t make a false allegation of rape because they have been rejected by someone they are romantically interested in. Such denials a batguano crazy. Take this as an example. Following the verdict, Joanne Jakymec, chief Crown prosecutor for Wessex said: “Rebecca Palmer indulged in consensual sexual…

THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 20, 2017 *Statement Regarding Military Justice*

Trial and appellate lawyers often need to interpret what a statute means and how it applies to their case. “There are some great Supreme Court cases on statutory interpretation, including the famous discussion regarding whether a tomato is a fruit.” Says Prof. Tessa Dysart on Appellate Advocacy Blog. She is referring to Nix v. Hedden,…

On 12 October 2017, the CAAF granted petitions worthy of watching: No. 17-0556/AR. U.S. v. Joseph R. Armstrong. CCA 20150424. On consideration of the petition for grant of review of the decision of the United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals, it is ordered that said petition is hereby granted on the following issue: WHETHER…

At SimpleJustice blog (a blog worth following) there is a piece about Judge Kopf and a tweet which leads to a discussion of a prosecutors obligation to provide discovery to the defense. Let me start with some basics and two cases that prosecutors and defense lawyers know (or should know) well. In Brady v. Maryland,…

It is common to obtain character and rehabilitation letters for a service-member at trial. There is an art to getting and using good letters. Rule 1, don’t have a letter (or testimony) in which the writer impeaches the verdict. “This is out of character,” or something to that effect is much better and won’t draw…

Yes, it is. In dissenting to the Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals majority opinion in United States v. Decker, the dissenting judge says: This is a vexing case; the kind that sexual assault prevention training seeks to avoid. I agree with the majority’s resolution of Assignment of Error III, and I agree that the…