Court-Martial Trial Practice

Courtesy of the Booneville Democrat we now know that Several bills . . . are among a number of bill filings this week at the State Capitol in preparation for the 91st General Assembly regular session. They include: House Bill 1059, by Rep. House, would criminalize the violation of a military order of protection to…

CBS news has picked up this: A former Fort Bragg soldier who killed four women and raped others more than 25 years ago is again headed for execution. The Fayetteville Observer reports Ronald Gray last week lost a battle to keep in place a federal court’s order issued eight years ago blocking his execution. The…

“We thus readily conclude that ex parte communications between a military judge and an SVC are generally proscribed.” Yes, inexplicably, it was necessary for the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals (AFCCA) to decide such an issue, as part of deciding what impact, if any, SVC’s ex parte communications had in a trial–a chilling thought.…

On this date in 1894 Captain Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of treason by a French court-martial. J’accuse. “[A] phrase made famous by Emile Zola in a public letter attacking the irregularities of the Dreyfus trial (published Jan. 13, 1898).” The accusation was enough. Although I think it should also be noted that he was Jewish,…

We have all been there. The unsophisticated suspect consents to the taking a search of their cell phone or computers. Or, the MCIO get a search authorization. Then investigators basically go on a fishing expedition for evidence of the current allegations, and anything else they can find–justifying anything else found on the “plain view” doctrine.…

O’Keeffe, Eamonn (2016) ““Such Want of Gentlemanly Conduct:” The General Court Martial of Lieutenant John de Hertel,” Canadian Military History: Vol. 25: Iss. 2, Article 2. At this court-martial of a junior officer, the British Army assembled 15 more senior officers to serve as the “jury” in the case. Today people whing about getting at…

The SVC also testified at the post-trial Article 39(a), UCMJ, session. When asked by the trial defense counsel if it was the “standard in practice as an SVC to meet with the military judge ex parte,” the SVC stated, “Generally, yes. We’re usually not included in [R.C.M.] 802 conferences, so generally the judge will speak…

John Wesley Hall’s website is an excellent resource for issues involving the Fourth Amendment–FourthAmendment.com. In pointing to a search warrant case Mr. Hall quotes from the opinion. We remind McCollum’s counsel that “the statement of facts in an appellate brief should be a concise narrative of the facts stated in accordance with the standard of…

Packingham v. North Carolina is the case of Lester Packingham, a North Carolina man who became a registered sex offender after he was convicted, at the age of 21, of taking indecent liberties with a minor. Six years after Packingham’s conviction, North Carolina enacted a law that made it a felony for registered sex offenders…

The Army Court of Criminal Appeals has raised an interesting question and important reminder in United States v. Keen, decided 20 October 2016. The court itself specified the following issue. WHETHER THE MILITARY JUDGE ACTED AS COUNSEL OR LEGAL OFFICER AS TO ANY OFFENSE CHARGED OR IN APPELLANT’S CASE GENERALLY OR FORWARDED CHARGES IN APPELLANT’S…