Court-Martial Trial Practice

Professor Schlueter takes a stab at answering the question. David A. Schlueter, The Military Justice Conundrum: Justice or Discipline?, 215 MIL. L. REV. 1 (2013). Why even ask the question let alone seek an answer. Well it depends on where you stand on the current issue of a commander’s authority over courts-martials. If you want…

The silly political season has passed for a short period of time. Bet’s are on now for the presidential silly season having started, etc. During the campaign of now senator elect x, the issue of her political statements and her reserve officer obligations came up. That is an interesting topic of discussion. Before entering the…

Each week CrimProfBlog publishes the top ten downloaded articles. Here are three that may be useful to military justice practitioners. Brady’s Blind Spot: Impeachment Evidence in Police Personnel Files and the Battle Splitting the Prosecution Team Jonathan Abel, Stanford Law School – Constitutional Law Center The Supreme Court’s Brady doctrine requires prosecutors to disclose favorable,…

Professor Imwinklried has an excellent article advocating banishment of the ban on extrinsic evidence to impeach under Federal (Military) Rule of Evidence 608(b) (MRE). Prof. Imwinkleried questions why the ban is necessary and may in fact encourage perjury on the part of a testifying witness. Professor Kevin Cole has an excellent summary of the article…

Being drunk and being incapacitated aren’t the same – no matter how hard military sexual assault trainers try to convince you otherwise. Such training is not just wrong – it is – IMHO – knowingly false. Which brings us, finally, to the drunk sex issue. So, is Sokolow suggesting that all women who say they…

It’s never too early to plan for interesting upcoming events. So, you ought to set-aside 12-13 June 2015, especially if you will be in the Arlington, VA area on those days. The Center for Prosecutorial Integrity will have its Second Innocence Summit. Proceedings will take place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Washington National Airport, 1480…

Can a failure to file a pretrial motion equal ineffective assistance of counsel? The BLUF is yes in some cases. In some instances I have argued IAC on appeal for failing to make a meritorious motion. The NMCCA has issued an interesting opinion in United States v. Spurling, in which they discuss this important issue.…

Some years ago I represented a Soldier accused of multiple assaults and rapes of his wife, and of his girlfriends. The rapes allegedly included him choking the complaining witness during the rapes. He told me – and later the members at his court-martial – that he and his wife consensually engaged in choking during sex…

On 2 October, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in a case that might have important ramifications for military justice – Ohio v. Clark. And it is a source for potential motions going forward, regardless of CAAF’s recent Squire opinion. Here is the question presented. Whether an individual’s obligation to report suspected child abuse makes that…

Your weekend reading program. Many, many, many years ago, as a police officer I had attempted to arrest a suspect who successfully got away. Some days later, I saw a CID officer bringing in a person to the station – and I said, “that’s him.” It wasn’t, I was wrong. My first general court-martial in…