A child molestation case in the Bell County court system more than a decade after the military closed it out took a bizarre turn Friday when a judge ruled the defense attorney must be removed because he could be a potential witness. Lamar Andre Smith, 41, now of Georgia, appeared before Judge Fancy Jezek of 426th District Court wearing an orange jail-issued jumpsuit on Friday, his attorney John Galligan to his left. On Jan. 11, 2000, the case was transferred from the district court in Bell County to the military where a general court-martial was scheduled. The case was ultimately resolved with a plea agreement that reduced Smith’s rank and gave him a bad conduct discharge from the Army. The decision made Smith ineligible for military retirement benefits. In an odd twist, the judge during that proceeding on Fort Hood was Galligan, now a retired colonel practicing as a defense attorney in Belton.

Arizona Star reports.

A Davis-Monthan airman accused of running a sham Russian bride ring was acquitted at his court-martial Friday. A military jury deliberated for seven hours before finding Staff Sgt. Aleksandr S. Ilin not guilty of all charges.

News of the Weird. . . . .

The Capital Flyer reports that, and I quote:

316 WG legal office doles out UCMJ punishment for nine infractions

A Freudian slip no doubt.

Salon reports that:

An Army reserve colonel on his second Afghanistan tour has been kicked out of that country for writing an editorial about how much he hates PowerPoint.

And . . . .

Dr. Conspiracy appears to have a copy of the check by Orly Taitz paying her fine for Rhodes v. MacDonald.

A Davis-Monthan airman is on trial in military court this week over allegations that he ran a fraudulent Russian bride ring, arranging sham marriages for money with members of the military so the foreign women could obtain legal status in the U.S.

The Record-Courier reports on the Davila case:

Family members of murdered soldier Timothy and Randy Miller are preparing for a day of testimony from the defense after a daylong hearing for the prosecution on Monday.

Army Times reports:

Family members of soldiers who are imprisoned at Fort Leavenworth for killings during the Iraq war are planning a rally in Leavenworth. The relatives call the inmates the Leavenworth 10, although two have been released from the prison. Scott Behenna, one of the organizers of the Labor Day weekend rally, says the group is not anti-military.

What impact, if any, might this have on Behanna’s continuing requests for clemency?

Marine Corps Times reports this piece of collateral consequences:

Some military veterans are angry that a World War II soldier who died in prison after pleading guilty to killing his wife is scheduled to be buried Tuesday in Denver’s Fort Logan National Cemetery. Raymond R. Sawyer, a former Marine from Colorado, died Aug. 11 in a Tucson, Ariz., state prison while serving 13 years for second-degree murder.