Timothy Hennis’ trial record is now in the hands of Maj. Gen. Rodney Anderson, Fort Bragg’s acting commanding general, a Fort Bragg spokeswoman said Friday. Hennis’ attempt at a new court-martial was denied late last month by a military judge, meaning his case now moves to Fort Bragg’s commanding general for review.

The Standard-Examiner reports:

An Army Reserve sergeant had his case dismissed by the state of Utah on Tuesday, but he is not off the hook. Keith Houston Turner, 52, will now likely have his case handled by the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. “We filed it initially thinking it might be more fair to do it here, because the military justice system runs a little more slowly,” said Deputy Davis County Attorney Rick Westmoreland. “But as we got into it, it just didn’t seem right that we were expending state resources for what really was a military matter.” Turner is charged with second-degree felony communications fraud. He is accused of selling or pawning military items, such as computers and uniforms, on eBay between Aug. 1, 2006, and May 31, 2007.

The Day (Groton, CN) reports:

A sailor could get kicked out of the Navy for going inside Cory’s Petroleum. The gas and service station on Route 12, about 2 miles from the Naval Submarine Base, sells pouches of Salvia divinorum, an herb that produces hallucinogenic effects when chewed or smoked.

Two women testified at a military hearing Tuesday that they would not have had sex with an airman had they known he was HIV positive, and one said she believed him when he said he wasn’t because he was in the Air Force.

Professor Friedman has put up the transcript of argument in Michigan v. Bryant, a Crawford case.

Law.com has this item about prosecutorial misconduct cases in California.

Only a tiny percentage of prosecutors who engaged in misconduct were disciplined by the State Bar of California during a 12-year period, according to a report released Monday.

Fayobserver.com reports:

The Army has opposed an attempt by a former Fort Bragg soldier to have a military appeals court review his 2001 murder conviction. John Diamond, who was a staff sergeant when convicted in August 2001 of first-degree murder in the death of Air Force Capt. Marty Theer, is seeking a new trial and says the lawyers who represented him at his court-martial had a conflict of interest.

Signonsandiego reports:

The Coast Guard petty officer piloting the boat that killed an 8-year-old Rancho Penasquitos boy will face a general court-martial, while his two fellow crew members get lesser trials that mean a year or less in jail if convicted. The Coast Guard is now focusing the brunt of its prosecution on Petty Officer 1st Class Paul A. Ramos, 21, who will be tried at a general court-martial on charges of involuntary manslaughter, negligent homicide, aggravated assault and several lesser counts.

LA Times reports:

Three Coast Guard petty officers will be court-martialed for a 2009 fatal collision in San Diego Bay, the Coast Guard announced Wednesday. A fourth Coast Guard member will face a nonjudicial punishment process.

Daemonstv.com shows that hollywood can mimic real life.

Think Hennis? Think other cases, certainly I’ve had a couple that fit this bill as have my colleagues.

The cases on The Good Wife are always excellent; clever, unsentimental, often humorous. This week Alicia and Will went to court martial defending a soldier accused of murdering his wife. This was all thanks to Cary, who lost the case at state trial and called up a friend in JAG to retry the accused.

The Witchata Eagle reports:

A decision likely will be made in about two weeks about whether a McConnell Air Force Base sergeant accused of having sex without disclosing his HIV-positive status should face a court-martial. Tech. Sgt. David Gutierrez did not make a comment today during his Article 32 hearing, which is similar to a grand jury proceeding.

And no, it’s not similar to a grand jury. Unfortunately that erroneous comparison remains in the media lexicon.

The NASA astronaut who made international headlines after attacking a romantic rival with pepper spray at the Orlando International Airport in 2007 spent Thursday in a military courtroom at Naval Air Station Jacksonville. The government is asking a Navy review board to recommend discharging Captain Lisa Nowak and reduce her rank and pay grade.

AP reports that:

Federal safety investigators revealed Wednesday that crew members aboard two Coast Guard boats involved in collisions in California and South Carolina last year were using wireless devices for conversation or text messaging unrelated to vessel operations. The collisions killed one person and injured 10.

Fayetteville Observer have a short piece on Hennis:

Lawyers handling Timothy Hennis’ federal appeal will have additional time to file documents on whether the Army had jurisdiction to convict him of three murders.

From time to time a client or the family members want to know how the military can prosecute someone for civilian charges. It happens.

Military.com reports:

Once the civilian justice system is done with three North Georgia Soldiers accused of throwing military explosives at a crowd, they may still have to answer to the military.

And here’s a little more detail from the Dahlonega Nugget:

Three local men enlisted in the U.S. Army at Camp Frank D. Merrill in Dahlonega are facing a slew of felony charges, including domestic terrorism, after allegedly tossing explosive devices into a crowd of people over the weekend. No one was injured in the random attack, which occurred in the Ingles parking lot near the busy intersection of highways 400 and 53 in Dawsonville.

Military.com also reports:

Usually, the military sends press releases to the hometown newspapers of a new enlistee. But in an unusual step, the Air Force is preparing to issue a press release aimed at the national media announcing that someone has actually not joined up. The move was prompted by an Aug. 3 report in the New York Daily News that Melissa Weber of Long Island, a former teacher convicted last year of having sex with a 14-year-old student, had joined the Air Force to be trained as a nurse.

Crime & Consequences picks up on a point.

Myron Pitts, who covered the Hennis trial for the Fayetteville Observer, has this article summing up the evidence. The whole story is worth a read, but my favorite line is this: Hennis’ lawyer, Frank Spinner, said at the bottom of the courthouse steps that the jury never got to know his client, who did not testify. The jurors instead were treated to gruesome photos of the murder scene, he said. Um, excuse me, Mr. Spinner, but whose choice was it not to testify? At common law, the defendant wasn’t allowed to testify, but we got rid of that rule a long, long time ago.

I saw a military jury convict Hennis on April 8 and sentence him to die Thursday[.] Hennis’ lawyer, Frank Spinner, said at the bottom of the courthouse steps that the jury never got to know his client, who did not testify. The jurors instead were treated to gruesome photos of the murder scene, he said.

That was Hennis’s choice. He was not required to testify. The members would have been instructed that they could not consider the declination to testify as evidence of guilt or hold it against him.

[T]he facts don’t help Hennis. First, he adopted a dog from a woman who was found murdered two days later. His bad luck. Second, a man who had never seen him before says he saw a man fitting Hennis’ description get into a white Chevrolet Chevette near the crime scene that night. The police sketch and Hennis’ mug shot are shockingly similar. Then, Hennis has no solid alibi for his whereabouts both times someone used Katie Eastburn’s stolen ATM card. A witness at the ATM described a tall man climbing out of a small, white car, like the kind of Chevette owned by the 6-foot-4 Hennis. A day after the murders, Hennis happened to take a single garment to be laundered, a Members Only jacket, like the kind a witness said the suspect near the scene had worn. Then, neighbors reported, he just happened to be burning items for hours in a barrel later that day. Beyond all that, there’s the DNA. There was maybe one place in the world where Hennis’ DNA could have been found that would have fatally undermined his version of events, and that’s where it was found – inside Katie Eastburn.

CAAFLog links to an interesting report of Mr. Eastburn’s reaction.

A military jury has sentenced a soldier to die for killing a North Carolina mother and her two children in 1985.

The jury left the courthouse at Fort Bragg about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday evening without a decision on a sentence for Hennis: life in prison or the death penalty. A death sentence requires a unanimous vote of all 14 jurors; a life sentence requires agreement from at least 11 of the jurors.

Hennis was convicted of premeditated murder, so it’s one or the other life or death. The paper seems to have picked up on the three-quarters vote needed for a sentence in excess of 10 years. In this case he’s already going to get life, the question is whether all 14 members will vote to terminate it.

Deliberations continue today.

Court recessed at 5:40 p.m. after the jury deliberated for more than two hours and also waited for the answer to three questions, including whether Master Sgt. Timothy Hennis would be eligible for parole if given a life sentence. Judge Col. Patrick Parrish told the jury that “life means life” and reminded jurors of his instructions to impose a sentence they view as fair. Before he answered the jurors’ questions, Parrish heard arguments about whether a life sentence would actually means life. While he agreed with the government that Hennis could receive parole, he also agreed with the defense that the chances of that were “slim and none,” given the 52-year-old Hennis’ age and the nature of the crimes. He agreed that the defense had opened the door to the question with its closing argument that jurors knew Hennis would at least spend life behind bars. He declined to answer the question with any specifics, however, saying the various answers had too many permutations. He did say that he would consider any further arguments when deliberations are scheduled to resume Wednesday morning.

The family of a former Fort Bragg soldier convicted of killing a Fayetteville woman and two small children in 1985 on Monday begged a military jury not to sentence him to death for the crimes. The panel of 14 Army officers and enlisted personnel last week found Master Sgt. Timothy Hennis guilty of three counts of premeditated murder and is considering his sentence.

Some interesting video attached to this.

Army Times reports:

Defense attorneys have rested their case in the sentencing of a soldier convicted of murder in the slayings of a North Carolina mother and two of her daughters.

Kokomo Perspective reports that:

Rep. Burton issued the following statement after the Navy dropped several charges against two Navy SEALs who are accused of mistreating terrorist mastermind Ahmed Hashim Abed, the man believed to be responsible for the infamous mutilations of four American contractors in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004.

2. Hasan:

Statesman.com reports on the transfer of Major Hasan (with video of press conference of the Sheriff, Dan Smith).

Referring to the pretrial confinement and an expenditure likely to exceed 500K:

“It’s a total waste of money,” Galligan said. Hasan “is not a flight risk.”

That may be correct. But what about his safety from others. Would he not become a target of some hothead if he were released on pretrial restriction to base?

3. Hennis:

Question resolved, as reported by the newsobserver.com (I had wondered how/why they got him into confinement at that stage of the trial):

After the prosecution rested, a military judge ordered that Hennis remain in confinement. His attorneys had argued that the judge should release him because Hennis always followed the court’s orders and reported to Fort Bragg in 2006 after he was called back to the Army to face charges.

As I commented earlier (HERE), confinement after conviction and pending a sentencing hearing is an unusual step. However, it appears that the military judge was convinced that exceptional circumstances warranted immediate confinement. United States v. Tilghman, 44 M.J. 493 (C.A.A.F. 1996), would be the primary case to review on this type of action post-conviction, but pre-sentence.

The former Coast Guard Sector Anchorage Commander was awarded the maximum allowable punishment at an Admiral’s Mast Friday and will retire on July 1 in the grade of lieutenant with a general discharge in lieu of trial by a general court-martial. Capt. Herbert M. Hamilton, III, was relieved of command in May 2009. An investigation conducted by the Coast Guard Investigative Service revealed that Hamilton had inappropriate relationships with several women, including officer and enlisted Coast Guard members, and civilians, over a period of more than 13 years. Hamilton also was charged with misusing government computers and cell phones; making false official statements; and soliciting an enlisted member to destroy evidence. His retirement as a lieutenant in lieu of trial by a general court-martial is the result of a pretrial agreement and Hamilton’s unsatisfactory service in the grades of captain, commander, and lieutenant commander.

Thanks to cgblog.org.

2. Hennis. I’m sure you are now aware that Hennis was convicted of three premeditated murder charges in less than three hours of deliberation. The sentencing part of the trial began today.

Military jurors began sentencing hearings Friday to determine if a soldier convicted of murder in the slayings of a North Carolina mother and her two children will get the death penalty or life in prison.

Here’s another interesting take on the prosecution of Hennis by an editor who believes he’s guilty.

WRAL.com has this “victim impact” information about the Hennis case.

3. Hasan has now arrived at Belton County Jail where he will likely stay until he is sentenced.

Maj. Nidal Hasan was airlifted from a San Antonio military hospital to the Bell County Jail in Belton about 4 a.m. Friday. He had been at the military hospital since shortly after the Nov. 5 shooting spree that left him paralyzed.

4. A fraud through faked service:

A man who falsely claimed a chestful of military medals was sentenced to a year in prison and was ordered to repay $11,098 in veterans benefits he shouldn’t have received. Thomas Barnhart, 59, had 21 years of legitimate Navy and Coast Guard service, including offshore duty in Vietnam. But starting in 1979, he began inflating his experience in claims for promotions and benefits, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake Jacobsen told U.S. District Judge James Turk today in Roanoke.

5. You may have been following the issue of DoD wanting to shut down WikiLeaks, and in particular the issue of a recently released video of an Apache helicopter attack. Political Theatrics has this post.

Wikileaks released a 17-minute video on April 5th which depicted an Apache helicopter opening fire on a group of innocent Iraqi’s in New Baghdad in 2007; two of those killed were Reuters Journalists carrying their camera bags over their shoulders – Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22 and Saeed Chmagh, 40. On Monday evening, the Pentagon acknowledged and verified the legitimacy of the video.

Consortiumnews.com has another article on this subject.

Not only did a U.S. military helicopter gunship mow them down amid macho jokes and chuckling – after mistaking a couple of cameras for weapons – but the American attackers then blew away several Iraqis who arrived in a van and tried to take one of the wounded newsmen to a hospital. Two children in the van were badly wounded. “Well, it’s their fault for bringing their kids into a battle,” one American remarked.

6. Capital Flyer has more dire warnings on the career impact of a DUI.

7. FayObserver has this piece on the Pernell Article 32, UCMJ, hearing ongoing at Fort Bragg.

A Fort Bragg soldier accused of a rape and break-ins on post told an investigator he heard a voice in his head called Jason that told him to do “bad things,” according to testimony at an Article 32 hearing.

A military jury has found Army Master Sgt. Timothy B. Hennis guilty of three specifications of pre-meditated murder. The members of the court-martial panel returned with their verdict about 10:35 a.m. They had deliberated for two hours and 45 minutes over Wednesday and today

The FayObserver reports that:

The judge in the court-martial of Army Master Sgt. Timothy Hennis rejected defense calls for a mistrial this morning. Defense lawyers claimed that the judge, Col. Patrick Parrish, acted with partiality – or the appearance of partiality – in front of the jury Monday, leaving the impression that the defense was trying to hide evidence.

EvidenceProf Blog has this:

Judge, Jury, And interrogator, Take 3: Seventh Circuit Doesn’t Reverse Despite Improper Judicial Interrogation

Federal Rule of Evidence 605 provides that:

The judge presiding at the trial may not testify in that trial as a witness. No objection need be made in order to preserve the point.

Conversely, Federal Rule of Evidence 614(b) provides that “[t]he court may interrogate witnesses, whether called by itself or by a party,” and Federal Rule of Evidence 614(c) provides that

Objections to the calling of witnesses by the court or to interrogation by it may be made at the time or at the next available opportunity when the jury is not present.

This remarkable local story out of Montana, which is headlined “Man blames PTSD for child pornography downloads,” reports on another notable sentence break given to a notable child porn offense. Here are the details, which spotlight many of the hottest issues in current federal sentencing debates:

An Iraq war veteran in Helena, who claimed that post-traumatic stress disorder contributed to his viewing child pornography, was sentenced Tuesday to two years in federal prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised probation.

And here’s another one reported by Army Times.

A former Army Ranger who says he robbed two pharmacies looking for painkillers to cope with post-traumatic stress disorder will avoid any additional time behind bars.

Gazette.com reports that:

A nursing supervisor at the Air Force Academy’s cadet clinic is set to face court martial in June on allegations that she kept a dose of a narcotic painkiller for her own use.

Capital Flyer reports that:

Last week, a serious message was sent to all Airmen at Andrews that illegal drug use in the Air Force is simply not tolerated and will be punished.

Deseret News reports that”:

Seven Hill Air Force Base airmen have been discharged for the use of spice, an incense that has effects similar to marijuana. Eleven other cases of spice use are being processed at the base.

Army Times reports that:

A soldier from Fort Hood, Texas, who refused deployment to Afghanistan has been released from the stockade at this base near Tacoma. After a two-day court martial last August, Sgt. David Travis Bishop was found guilty of four counts, including going absent without leave and disobeying a lawful order. He was sentenced to a year’s confinement and told he would receive a bad-conduct discharge from the Army.

Washington Post has a an article, “A look at Marines who were charged in three high-profile cases involving killings of Iraqis[.]”

A number of outlets are reporting the changes in the enforcement of don’t ask, don’t tell. Here is the Washington Post.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said the military will restrict the kind of evidence that can be used against gay service members. For example, investigators will generally ignore anonymous complaints and make those who file them give statements under oath. In addition, only high-ranking officers — the equivalent of a one-star general or admiral — will have the authority to open inquiries or to decide whether a discharge is warranted.

Is there anyone who doesn’t know that Wuterich continues to trial, MJ David Jones denied the defense motion to dismiss for UCI.

Edwards AFB PAO reports:

An Airman from the 95th Security Forces Squadron was sentenced to a bad conduct discharge and 30 days confinement during a special court martial here March 11.and the mission because other members must perform the duties of the absentee. During his time here, he received a letter of counseling, a letter of reprimand, and two Article 15 actions. It was while serving out the punishment for his second non-judicial punishment that he left his unit. Airman Lopez began his Air Force career at the United States Air Force Academy in 2004. at the end of his third year as a cadet, In the spring of 2007 Airman Lopez voluntarily resigned while on academic probation and under an investigation for cheating.

Navy Times reports:

The commanding officer of a Pearl Harbor-based attack submarine was fired Monday after he was found guilty of “drunkenness” and “conduct unbecoming an officer,” in nonjudicial punishment, a spokesman said Tuesday. It was the seventh CO firing of 2010.

(emphasis added), see e.g. the case of the former CO, USS COWPENS.

Stars & Stripes reports:

A Navy Humvee crashed into the back of a Japanese family’s car and left the scene Tuesday night, slightly injuring two children, according to Okinawa police. The sailor was later arrested by military police. The incident received broad coverage in local media Wednesday, coming at a time when the U.S. military and Japan have locked horns on basing issues on Okinawa.

U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle on Wednesday dismissed an effort by Army Master Sgt. Timothy Bailey Hennis to stop his court-martial for a 1985 triple homicide near Fort Bragg. A jury has been seated in the court-martial. Opening statements and testimony are scheduled to begin today.

It appears that the judge deferred to the court-martial process. It appears that the judge deferred to the court-martial process, Hennis v. Hemlick, 5:09-HC-2169-BO (E.D.N.C. 16 March 2010).

Hennis asserts the military lacks jurisdiction to court martial him because of a “break in service” which relieves Hennis from court martial for any crimes committed in a prior enlistment from which he has been discharged. Hirshberg v. Cooke, 336 U.S. 210 (1949) (holding military was not entitled to institute court-martial proceedings against a service member offenses committed during an earlier enlistment – which had expired and from which he had honorably discharged – even though he had re-enlisted the day after being discharged).

First Judge Boyle summarizes the procedure applicable to trials by court-martial and then dicusses writs of habeas corpus under 28 U. S. Code 2241. Citing to Schlesinger v. Councilman, 420 U.S. 738 (1975), Judge Boyle’s prudential decision is:

“when a serviceman charged with crimes by military authorities can show no harm other than that attendant to resolution of his case in the military court system, the federal district courts must refrain from intervention, by way of injunction or otherwise.” Id. at 758.

Judge Boyle uses Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, 548 U.S. 557, 586 (2006) to support his conclusion, because comity and abstention requires the military justice system act first: to protect good order and discipline and the integrated procedures created by the UCMJ system. In light of CAAF’s current move to change its rules, this was interesting.

a critical element of [military justice process] which is the Court of Military Appeals consisting of civilian judges completely removed from all military influence or persuasion ….”

Judge Boyle writes that the case is so “material fact mired” with complicated regulations and military distinct facts, that the court-martial is a better process to handle the case. Basically, Judge Boyle finds there is nothing unique to the case justifying his intervention. Rather, argues that a court-martial with its subject matter expertise is the best and correct forum to resolve the issues. And assuming conviction, Hennis will still get his day in federal court, albeit later.

Therefore, as the circumstances are set out, this court, like that in Councilman, “discerns nothing that outweighs the strong considerations favoring exhaustion of remedies or that warrants intruding on the integrity of the military court processes.” [Councilman, 420 U.S.] at 761.

Trial starts 17 March 2010, St. Patrick’s Day. I have no idea if Hennis is Irish.

A 12th juror was seated in the court-martial of Army Master Sgt. Timothy B. Hennis at Fort Bragg this morning, but the total was quickly knocked back to 10. Attorneys on both sides exercised their right to peremptorily challenge one juror each.

The Army began its prosecution in 2006 after a cold case detective with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office ordered DNA tests on the rape kit of Eastburn and on a blood sample from Hennis. That testing, conducted by the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, matched Hennis’ DNA to sperm found in the rape kit, according to court documents. The military has done further testing, lawyers said Monday. One of the tests found Eastburn’s DNA but none from anyone else, said Lt. Col. Kris Poppe, who is one of Hennis’ defense lawyers. Capt. Matt Scott, one of the case’s four prosecutors, argued that the technician who tested the DNA said Eastburn’s DNA could have washed out any male DNA in the sample. The technician suggested another DNA test, one designed to look only for male DNA, Scott said. The male DNA test was done. It did not clear Hennis as the source of the sperm, but Poppe said the result is not precise. The defense lawyers have done their own DNA testing and have not shared the results with prosecutors. Scott told the judge, Col. Patrick Parrish, that the defense team will try to use the Army’s DNA results to mislead the jury, and he asked Parrish to require that defense lawyers share their DNA test results.

R.C.M. 701(b) covers reciprocal discovery by the prosecution. Here is the relevant part of the rule, R.C.M. 701(b)(4).

. . . possession, custody, or control of the defense that the defense intends to introduce as evidence in the defense case-in-chief at trial or that were prepared by a witness whom the defense intends to call at trial when the results or reports relate to that witness’ testimony (emphasis added).

So, IMHO until the defense puts a DNA examiner on the witness list there appears to be no need to provide any of their own DNA test results. Further, the defense is not required to disclose the DNA results unless they intend offering the information in their own case. (And by the way, contrary to some new arguments that are coming up in some Article 32, UCMJ, hearings that I have done, there is no reciprocal discovery at an Article 32, UCMJ, hearing. See R.C.M. 405. As I frequently say, R.C.M. 405 is a stand-alone “manual” of rules of procedure and evidence at an Article 32, UCMJ, hearing. Except for certain of the rules of on privileges, you can rip out that part of the M.C.M. and you don’t need anything else from the manual. Reciprocal discovery does not apply until after charges are referred and if the defense submits a discovery request.)

The DNA evidence may face another challenge. The judge and lawyers briefly discussed a story which appeared in The Fayetteville Observer on Monday about a pending review of thousands of old cases by the State Bureau of Investigation. . . . The state attorney general ordered the review after North Carolina’s Innocence Inquiry Commission last week exonerated a man in part because of a problem with the SBI lab. In the early 1990s, the lab did not tell anyone that preliminary blood test results used to convict the man were found to be wrong in follow-up testing. . . A longer version of that news article, published Sunday in The News & Observer newspaper in Raleigh, said a forensic scientist who does consulting for defense lawyers believes the SBI lab is troubled. “They seem to be bending the science often,” she told the N&O, and she said she found an incident in which the lab mixed up the DNA of a suspect and the victim.

FayObserver reports:

The 11th juror was provisionally seated in the court-martial of Army Master Sgt. Timothy B. Hennis on Wednesday. The court-martial, a capital murder trial, needs a minimum of 12 jurors to proceed.

Air Force Times reports:

An airman stationed at Minot Air Force Base faces court-martial in the alleged sexual abuse of his 14-month-old son.

Wasau Daily Herald reports:

A 23-year-old Wausau man accused of deserting from the U.S. Navy in 2008 was arrested this weekend and could face punishment from the Navy.

Huffington Post reports on private military and security contracting (PMSC) issues:

As much of the public discussion, including college campuses, of private military and security contracting (PMSC) is, unfortunately, noted for its inaccurate characterization of contractors as mercenaries, and frequently over the top characterizations of companies as war profiteers, or extreme right wing Christian crusaders (a not so subtle reference to the presumed religious beliefs of Eric Prince of what was Blackwater, now Xe Services) it is refreshing, indeed, a bit astonishing, to find a student publication that actually tries to take a level headed, dispassionate look at the subject.

x reports that the military judge has declined to delay trial pending the outcome of Hennis’s District Court jurisdictional case.

Navy Times reports:

The skipper of Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., was temporarily relieved of command Friday for “inappropriate conduct,” Navy officials said. Capt. William Reavey Jr., 51, became the sixth commanding officer to be fired this year.

SCOTUSBlog has a piece on Carr, a SORNA case argued at the Supremes recently.

Below, Harvard Law School’s Kate Nielson recaps last week’s oral argument in Carr v. United States. Kate’s preview of the proceedings is available here. Check the Carr v. United States (08-1301) SCOTUSwiki page for additional updates.

Stars & Stripes reports some interesting developments in a murder case from Japan.

A Filipino accused of plotting with a U.S. Navy command master chief to kill the sailor’s family was arrested Tuesday in the Philippines in connection with a related killing, the Philippine National Police said. Dimple Santos, 27, was being held Tuesday night in Antipolo City on suspicion of murder in the shooting death of a Filipino taxi driver, said Col. Dioscoro Maata, the city police superintendent. The arrest follows a Stars and Stripes investigation of the case and an ongoing Navy probe of Master Chief Petty Officer John Bench and his ties to killings in Japan and the Philippines.