Articles Posted in court-martial

CNN Justice reports: Toobin: Cabinet members may end up negotiating which legal system will try Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the suspect in last week’s mass shooting at Fort Hood in Texas, CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said Tuesday. CNN: Would the charges be the same in either case? Toobin: The wording would be…

Who has the hardest job in the prosecution and defense of Major Hasan, by that I’m talking about the lawyers and the judge. As many have already observed, the merits portion of Major Hasan’s trial at Fort Hood is likely a done deal, except for the potential mental health issues. I would even argue that…

Military.com reports: A Marine reservist accused of attacking a Greek Orthodox priest with a tire iron after apparently calling him a terrorist was actually defending himself after being sexually attacked by the cleric, his defense attorney said Tuesday. Tampa Police report offered a far different account, saying Marakis was lost when he followed Bruce into…

CNN reports: California man is facing a criminal charge for wearing numerous Navy medals despite the fact he never served in the military, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. A witness “saw Burton wearing a Marine Corps uniform displaying the rank of lieutenant colonel, along with the Navy Cross, the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star[.]

The azstarnet reports: A Davis-Monthan airman was acquitted Tuesday in the slaying of another airman in 2007 during a south-side house party, an official said. A court martial panel found Senior Airman Philip Andre Howard not guilty of the June 2007 death of Airman 1st Class Brian Santos, said Capt. Stacie Shafran, a D-M spokeswoman.…

The LifeSiteNews.com is reporting: While Hasan recovers at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, the Army is readying itself to charge Hasan in military court, where he could face the death-penalty. But prosecutors will have to charge Hasan under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), which was amended in 2004 to include…

Gawker, an unusual blog has information about Major Hasan’s application for a concealed carry permit in VA. Fort Hood, like all military installations, will have a regulation concerning the possession and carrying of weapons on post. Usually the weapon has to be stored in the Armory. Here is the complete application. The blog also notes:…

Will Major Hasan successfully use PTSD as a defense, or will it at least become a mitigating factor to be considered. If the trial is at Fort Hood, as seems likely at the moment, many of the Members (jury) panel will already have quite a bit of extra-judicial information. Here are some links relating to…

I’m not posting much at the moment on the Fort Hood tragedy. People can follow the news as easily as I can. However, this article by Will Heaven in the (U.K.) Daily Telegraph did raise an eyebrow. Fort Hood shooting: the death penalty would make Nidal Malik Hasan an Islamic martyr The implication of the…

Anyone who knows anything about death penalty cases knows that allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel (IAC) will figure significantly in an appeal. It’s given that no matter how hard they work they’ll be accused of incompetence. Today, the Supreme Court summarily reversed a Sixth Circuit case in which the circuit court found IAC. Here…