There is an excellent post at Volokh Conspiracy. Here’s the problem in a nutshell: So much at trial can turn on the testimony of a police officer. For a criminal defendant, life and liberty may depend on the ability to impeach the officer’s testimony. The federal constitution, as interpreted by…
Is it an indecent exposure offense under UCMJ art. 120, to show someone a digital picture of your own genitals? In a published opinion in United States v. Williams, __ M.J. __, No. 20140401 (A. Ct. Crim. App. Mar. 30, 3016), the Army Court of Criminal Appeals split 2-1 in deciding…
Do you have enough to read, well here’s more. In sum, the Miranda decision has, at best, had little or no impact on the risks of false confession and wrongful conviction. At worst, the influence of police on Miranda procedures and subsequent litigation has actually made things worse for defendants.…
I am an unabashed advocate of DoD finding a way to have all military courts in a module in PACER, or that DoD develop something similar. But, until that happens, military appellate court websites are a necessary tool for a military justice practitioner (TC/DC, SJA, MJ). So I do have a…
Two items in the new Army Lawyer. Working with Civilian Counsel: A Military Practitioner’s Roadmap By Major Michael G. Botelho.pdf The Right to See: A Due Process Analysis of Access to Information in Army Adverse Administrative Proceedings By Major John T. Soron.pdf
There are a couple of interesting items in Vol. 224, MIL. L. REV. MILITARY JUSTICE INCOMPETENCE OVER COMPETENCY DETERMINATIONS, by Major David C. Lai. This is relevant to me because I have an appellate case where there are issues with the client’s current competency and there were at trial. ALWAYS…
After a lengthy down time, CAAF and AFCCA are back on line.
The military does not have mandatory minimum confinement sentences (and I hope we never have them). But this federal case is certainly interesting. US v. Collins, No. 15-3236 (6th Cir. June 29, 2016) (available here).
It’s just sad that the public, and more importantly practitioners before the court have to rely on handouts from colleagues to get news out there about events in the CAAF. Here’s another. In United States v. Commisso, CAAF has granted on the following issue. WHETHER THE MILITARY JUDGE ABUSED HIS…
A friend brought to my attention this little item for our weekend reading. NOTES: PROSECUTORIAL POWER AND THE LEGITIMACY OF THE MILITARY JUSTICE SYSTEM. 123 HARVARD L. REV. 937 (2010). Is the concluding paragraph correct? The modern military justice system suggests an alternative model of institutional design: it emerged as a…