Civilian attorneys get quite a few questions about expunging court-martial convictions. The answer is no, it can’t be done in the same way that many states allow for an expungement. The closest way to have it removed from your record is to have a court-martial reversed for factual sufficiency at…
Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog
Fingerprint evidence and testimony
Tenth Circuit Joins Consensus On Admissibility Of Fingerprint Evidence In conspiracy to possess marijuana and illegal firearm possession prosecution, expert fingerprint testimony identifying the defendant’s thumb print on guns and ammunition was admissible under FRE 702 and Daubert even though the defendant raised “questions regarding whether fingerprint analysis can be…
Sailor in Pendleton Brig commits suicide
Sailor Charged With Murder Kills Self August 01, 2009 Military.com A Navy man accused of killing another Sailor at Camp Pendleton in Southern California took his own life Friday in his cell, officials said. Jonathan Campos, 32, was on suicide watch in the brig, the Los Angeles Times reported. He…
Not political fall-out
Here’s an interesting side on the recent exploits of South Carolina’s itinerant governor. Air Force Reserve opts not to discipline Mark Sanford over marital affair By Tim Smith • Staff writer • July 29, 2009 COLUMBIA — The U.S. Air Force Reserve considered disciplinary measures against Gov. Mark Sanford over…
New CAAF case
CAAF has issued an opinion in United States v. Smead, __ M.J. ___ (C.A.A.F. 2009). Chief Judge Effron wrote the opinion for Judges Baker and Stuckey, and Judges Ryan and Erdmann concurred in the judgment.
Arizona v. Gant comment.
Here is an interesting post by Prof. Colin Miller on his EvidenceProfBlog about search incident to seizure. Arizona v. Gant: A Windfall For The Government?
I want my stuff back!
How many clients ask about property taken by law enforcement and not promptly returned, or had their personal property lost or stolen while they are in pretrial confinement? There are several methods I’ve used to jog the system, sometimes successfully. a. Property seized in a search with no evidentiary…
Technology tip
Do you get .pdf documents? Do you want to use the text from the .pdf document in other documents? Do you want to edit the .pdf document? I use PureText to copy parts of text for cut-and-pasting of small parts of a .pdf document. PureText is free. You highlight what…
Careful who you speak to and what you say.
I routinely counsel clients not to talk with anyone regarding their case. Here is a new Navy case which is a reminder. There is no evidence to suggest the appellant was engaged in plea discussions or negotiations with LtCol C at the time he repeated the advice from his father-in-law.…
Self-defense – again.
I have previously commented about evidence of the victim’s character for violence and specific incidents. To refresh – there are several ways the assault victim’s character for violent behavior can become relevant and admissible in an assault case. a. The defense puts on opinion testimony about the victim’s violent, threatening,…