Articles Posted in Uncategorized
An unguide to the perplexed
Yes, it is. In dissenting to the Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals majority opinion in United States v. Decker, the dissenting judge says:
This is a vexing case; the kind that sexual assault prevention training seeks to avoid. I agree with the majority’s resolution of Assignment of Error III, and I agree that the evidence presented in this case is legally sufficient to support findings of guilty to the specifications of Charge I and to Charge I. I would disapprove the findings of guilty to the specifications of Charge I and to Charge I, because I have a reasonable doubt that CG was incapable of consenting to the sexual act due to impairment by alcohol or any other substance; or unconscious, or otherwise unaware that the alleged sexual act was occurring. Considering all of the evidence presented, it is just as likely that CG was conscious, aware, and capable of consenting, but does not remember because of an alcohol-induced blackout.
Exactly! I would suggest that 90% of military sexual assault cases involve both parties having drunk alcohol and claiming a lack of memory or ‘I was too drunk.’ The effects of an alcohol blackout on memory are well known and scientifically established. What is also well known is that people in an alcohol blackout can still act and talk “normally” as perceived by others. The dissenting judge’s discussion is a little more complex because of the way the offense was charged and the approach taken by the prosecution.
A piece of history
Crowder’s next orders took him to Fort Yates, North Dakota, where the United States Army attempted to suppress the religious Ghost Dance movement. While stationed at Fort Yates, Crowder proved successful in his legal defense in three court-martial proceedings. His actions were noted by Army superiors and after being promoted to the rank of captain, Crowder was reassigned to the Judge Advocate Generals Corps in 1895.
Says a piece in the Neosho Daily about Enoch Crowder.
BG Crowder is well known to historians of military justice for the sometimes contentious but always entertaining Ansell – Crowder dispute on military justice and see here.
Sentence appropriateness on appeal
Whether or not a sentence is appropriate for the crime convicted of and the character of the person convicted is a frequent issue on appeal. Less frequently there is an issue of sentence disparity between co-actors or co-accuseds.
The recent ACCA decision in United States v. Martinez (Sept. 2017), lays out the law fairly well on how to analyze and argue the issue.
In this case we hold appellant’s sentence was appropriate despite his assertion of sentence disparity with his coactor. While there is a not a bright-line test for when a sentence is highly disparate, the law is clear that sentence disparity is only one of many aspects of sentence appropriateness. We therefore hold that even if appellant’s sentence was highly disparate with his coactor’s sentence, appellant’s sentence was still appropriate for his crimes.
More cases coming?
The military already has rules and regulations about membership in certain hate groups. The tragic events at Charlottesville are likely to garner more attention to the issue of military personnel and hate groups.
From Task & Purpose.
James Alex Fields Jr., the 20-year-old Army basic training wash-out accused of running down counter-protesters demonstrating against hate groups in Charlottesville, Virginia, may not have been the only U.S. military veteran marching under the banner of white nationalism this weekend, Splinter reports.
DNA may be too good and convict the innocent
There is increasing attention to the possibility that DNA “evidence” at the scene of an alleged crime is just too good and may implicate the innocent.
Touch-trace DNA is the issue.
Here is an interesting discussion that may help form an argument to exclude DNA evidence or address it with the fact-finder at trial.
An interesting justification for a Brady violation
A major piece in the New York Times magazine by Emily Bazelon dissects the conviction of Noura Jackson for the murder of her mother.
The accused’s DNA was excluded as a match for any of the three DNA profiles found at the scene and there was no physical evidence linking the accused to the killing.
The accused was convicted on circumstantial evidence.
A resource for Virginia’s veterans
Virginia Military and Veteran Legal Resource Guide
Attorney General Mark R. Herring has created the Virginia Military and Veteran Legal Resource Guide, a new tool to help Virginia servicemembers, military families, and veterans understand the unique legal protections, rights, and resources available to them under the law. Volunteer attorneys from the Office of Attorney General spent more than a year developing the new guide, which will be distributed in hard copy and electronically in conjunction with the Virginia Department of Veterans Services, veterans’ service organizations, and more.
CAAF grants and sets-aside, with a remand
In my case of United States v. Lightsey, the CAAF has set-aside the decision of the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals, and has ordered a new review to consider the impact of United States v. Hukill.
Hukill applied the court’s decision in United States v. Hills to military judge alone trials.