New York Times has this good short piece about false confessions. New research shows how people who were apparently uninvolved in a crime could provide such a detailed account of what occurred, allowing prosecutors to claim that only the defendant could have committed the crime. An article by Professor Garrett…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: A major Iraqi war crimes case that has dragged on for five years hit another snag Monday when a military judge excused one of the attorneys for a Marine sergeant whose squad was charged with killing 24 Iraqis. The move by military judge Lt. Col. David…
Swinging a Sledge: The Right to Effective Assistance of Counsel, the Law of Deportations, and Padilla v. Kentucky, August 31, 2010, Joseph Ditkoff In Padilla v. Kentucky, the Supreme Court decided that the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of the effective assistance of legal counsel requires that counsel inform his client whether…
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a book review of Richard North Patterson’s new book which is about a court-martial. Yes, it’s about a Army officer who returns from Iraq, kills his former commander, and As the case unfolds, Mr. Patterson gives the reader a tutorial in military justice as well as…
The Greeley Gazette reports that: A retired JAG officer with over 23 years of experience, says the military judge who ruled against discovery for a Greeley Army officer may have derailed the government’s case based on precedent from another high profile case involving a military officer. Lt. Col John Eidsmoe,…
News8Austin reports: Next Thursday Maj. Hasan’s pretrial investigation, Article 32 hearing will reconvene. According to officials, the session is called a Status Conference Hearing and will address additional preliminary measures. Officials say no witness testimony will be heard during this portion of the hearing. The Article 32 hearing will be…
It appears that Denedo’s case is over. On 8 September 2010, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, with C.J. Effron and J. Baker dissenting, denied the filing of a writ appeal petition out of time. The majority writes: In support of the motion for leave to file writ-appeal…
Here is a link to some of the charge sheets through The News Tribune.
For various reasons the issue of homosexuality and DADT has been in the news for a while. The results of the various surveys to servicemembers and familys are still pending. Tomorrow, NMCCA will hear oral argument in United States v. Hayes: I. WHETHER THE MILITARY JUDGE’S COMMENTS ON THE RECORD…
The Guardian (UK) has this report: Twelve American soldiers face trial over an secret "kill team" that allegedly blew up and shot Afghan civilians at random and collected their fingers as trophies. Five of the soldiers are charged with murdering three Afghan men who were allegedly killed for sport in…