Court-Martial Trial Practice

Global Miliary Justice Reform blog brings us news of action in Europe in regard to a U.S. deserter seeking refugee status in Germany – he was avoiding deployment to the AOR. On 1 January 1977, President Carter pardoned a large number of civilians who had gone to Canada to avoid the draft. The pardon did…

I was at a conference this weekend on global issues of military justice. Again this lingering issue of transparency came up. My friend and colleague Gene Fidell at Global Military Justice Reform, has found a couple of gems. You can find information about the internal workings of the Army trial judiciary at this link, or…

Another of my ongoing noting of civilian cases which reference or rely upon military appellate decisions. I do this partly because it is an example of transparency and why it is needed in the military. When using Lexis or other search functions you are going to come up with military cases – if you have…

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.…