Court-Martial Trial Practice

From time to time I find a need to ask for a special instruction or a rewording of a BB instruction. Here is a favorite, in BAH/TAD/TDY fraud cases: I have asked for (but not gotten) a “Consciousness of Innocence,” instruction in cases where there is evidence to support it (cooperating with NCIS, giving a…

Prof. Berman notes a unique “stale” murder/rape case in Illinois. Speaking of the Supreme Court, two recent rulings by the Justices, Gall and Pepper, made much of considering under federal sentencing law the positive post-offense behavior by a defendant. In this case, it seems the defendant was a model citizen for more than five decades,…

I have mentioned this article before, Michael D. Risinger, Navigating Expert Reliability: Are Criminal Standards of Certainty Being Left in the Dock?, 64 ALBANY L. REV. 99 (2000). The basic theme: This article shows that, as to proffers of asserted expert testimony, civil defendants win their Daubert reliability challenges to plaintiffs’ proffers most of the…

Many years ago we sought to improve our counsel performance at NLSO Norfolk with developing checklists, protocols, and a PQS system. It seemed to work. Now here is an article, Darryl K. Brown, Defense Counsel, Trial Judges, and Evidence Protocols, Brown, Darryl K., Defense Counsel, Trial Judges, and Evidence Protocols, Texas Tech Law Review, Vol.…

The Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals is tragically behind in timely action on pending and future court-martial appeals. The military appellate courts, so far have declined to take action to release an appellant pending appeal. The Canadians set a the example. A Standing Court Martial today sentenced Captain Daniel Moriarity, a Cadet Instructors Cadre…

Maybe. It depends on state law – one party, all party permission; are you in a SCIF; or are you and the activity covered by 18 U. S. Code 2511?

Transition of the Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office (DISCO) to the Department of Defense Central Adjudicative Facility (CAF) Effective Oct. 27, 2012, the Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office (DISCO) will migrate to the DOD CAF [Central Adjudication Facility]. As a result of this migration a new version of the Joint Personnel Adjudication System (JPAS) will…

Federal evidence review brings us information about a proposed change to Fed. R. Evid. 803(10), which by operation of Mil. R. Evid. 1102, will become “law” for courts-martial absent Presidential action (18 months after the effective date of any FRE amendment). This is an occasional issue in fraud and some theft cases. [T]he draft amendment…

Here is a link to a useful site all about DNA. And here is a link to the NIJ forensics site.

For those interested in the history of the Constitution and its judicial interpretation, the George Washington Law Review has a: COMMEMORATING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF FARRAND’S RECORDS OF THE FEDERAL CONVENTION edition. Volume 80, No. 5, includes: A Dialogue on Statutory and Constitutional Interpretation The Honorable Antonin Scalia & John F. Manning 80 GEO. WASH.…