Congress continues to tinker, rather than take a complete overview and make rational change to the UCMJ – the politics continue. Meanwhile, we have to deal with the gruel they dish out. So, keep an eye on any changes to the statute of limitations for various sex related offenses. AND,…
What the witness sees and remembers is a function of many factors specific to that witness and the crime scene: the witnesses ability to see without glasses, the absence of any lighting at night. What complicates matters is the deliberate or unintentional police actions (and actions of others – see…
There appear to be ten fairly consistent reasons for a wrongful conviction, according to a NIJ researcher. In his series of pods Dr. Gould discusses the reasons (transcripts are available at the pod). I often, always, talk about confirmation bias in connection with military sexual assault investigations, through the 32,…
Center for Prosecutor Integrity. The Center for Prosecutor Integrity is the nation’s only organization with a sole focus on enhancing prosecutorial ethics. The goals of the Center are to preserve the presumption of innocence, assure equal treatment under the law, and end wrongful convictions. CPI sponsors the Registry of Prosecutorial Misconduct, supports…
Congress, commanders, and others ignore the effects of false sexual assault allegations. They don’t fit the meme. They are quite willing and happy to ignore such happenings or possible happenings. 16-year-old commits suicide after being falsely branded a rapist by drug-dealing gang. A schoolboy hanged himself after he was falsely…
Capacity to Consent to Sexual Risk, Elaine Craig, Dalhousie University – Schulich School of Law, 2013 Forthcoming in New Criminal Law Review, Vol. 17, Number 1, pps 103–134. © 2014 by the Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Abstract: In delineating the legal boundaries of capacity to consent to sexual…
Consistent with military law, the federal circuits generally follow the principle that evidentiary errors in a judge alone case are often nonprejudicial. The basic theory being that judges are presumed to know and apply the law, and will ignore impermissible evidence even where there has been no objection. The Seventh…
There should be a reassessment and there should be “amended” rules for how cell phones, tablets, and computers are searched. Accessibility to computers and cellphones created an extraordinary change in how we communicate, and in particular how we retain and store private information about those communications. Along with the nature…
I’ve not heard the awesome power of de novo review discussed this way. On the basis of the entire record we cannot find that the court was wrong as a matter of law in finding an intention to desert. We are, however, by Article 66(c) of the Code privileged to say…
Brother Bill sent me a link to this Onion piece. http://www.theonion.com/articles/partially-faded-hand-stamp-undermining-everything,30790/ It is a good teaching tool for those of us who go to court and actually try cases in front of members. I did a Marine case some years ago where the feedback was interesting. The members spent a…