Once the MCIO gets a “confession” or DNA in a sexual assault case, it seems, they stop investigating–bad. Whether you have DNA or not–whether you are trial counsel or defense counsel–gathering non-DNA evidence can be vital to your case. Complaining witness says she and accused were at a bar drinking…
The director of public prosecutions has pledged to apologise over failures in 47 rape and serious sexual offence cases where vital evidence was withheld from defence lawyers. From Juliet Bremner with ITV(UK). On Tuesday, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) revealed that issues with disclosure had been identified in 47 of…
“of late, an important shift has occurred in the views of state and lower federal courts, which have increasingly found fault with “new-generation” SORN laws, which in many respects are more expansive and onerous than those condoned by the” Supreme Court in Smith v. Doe, 538 U.S. 84 (2003) (cleaned up?). In the…
(cleaned up) Yes, back in 1976 I got my Bluebook and throughout the three years of law school, it was a regular reference. Ah, but it continues to be a daily tool–for motions, briefs, and such. I fear one day I’ll Bluebook a conversation with a relative or friend in…
Daniel Epps, Harmless Errors and Substantial Rights. 131 HARV. L. REV. 2117 (2018). The harmless constitutional error doctrine is as baffling as it is ubiquitous. Although appellate courts rely on it to deny relief for claimed constitutional violations every day, virtually every aspect of the doctrine is subject to fundamental…
The rule of lenity is something you should have in the toolbox regardless of being a trial or appellate counsel. Intisar A. Rabb, The Appellate Rule of Lenity: Responding to Abbe R. Gluck & Richard A. Posner, Statutory Interpretation on the Bench: A Survey of Forty-Two Judges on the Federal Courts of Appeals. …
Those of us who engage with discharge reviews, correction boards, and federal court on behalf of service-members are used to reading about the presumption of regularity–it’s a regular defense by the gubmint to an applicants claim. “I was improperly discharged.” A: “We can’t find any record of your discharge. Because…
You’ll remember Hills, Hukill, and Guardado. Basically, there are problems when the prosecution tries to invoke MRE 413 or 414 when all of the alleged events are charged. The result has been many cases being dismissed and sent for retrial or alternative actions. But, as reflected below, not all cases…
The author of this article clearly doesn’t understand. THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE TO THE PENTAGON’S WAR ON SEXUAL ASSAULT: THE MILITARY JUSTICE SYSTEM: A legal principle intended to protect service members after World War II has spawned a dangerous precedent.
Amy Howe, SCOTUSBlog reports on a new decision relevant to military practitioners. Opinion analysis: Justices decline to extend Fourth Amendment’s “automobile exception” When two Virginia police officers searched for the motorcyclist who had eluded them by driving away at speeds of up to 140 miles per hour, they probably would not…