North County Times reports:
That the military judge “ruled prosecutors must show beyond a reasonable doubt that unlawful command influence hasn’t tainted the manslaughter case against a Camp Pendleton Marine accused of taking part in the 2005 slayings of 24 Iraqi civilians.” This means the defense was successful so far in showing sufficient evidence to shift the burden to the prosecution to prove no UCI.
Marine Corps Times reports:
Eight Marines were charged in the biggest criminal case against U.S. troops to arise from the Iraq war. Six have had charges dismissed, and one was acquitted.
Whether the only remaining and perhaps highest-profile defendant stands trial may hinge on what happens this week in a military courtroom.
United States v. Ferguson
We granted review to determine whether the military judge erred by accepting Appellant’s guilty plea to indecent exposure. We hold that there is no substantial basis in law or fact to
question Appellant’s plea to indecent exposure and affirm the judgment of the United States Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA).
The indecent exposure and other acts happened over the internet, primarily via webcam.
United States v. Bond.
Before this court, Appellant has assigned the following errors:
I.
The military judge erred when he denied the defense motion to dismiss Charges I and III for prior jeopardy.
II.
An unsuspended bad-conduct discharge is an inappropriately severe punishment for the crimes of which Appellant was convicted.
III.
Appellant’s Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights were denied when he was prohibited from recording the Article 32 investigation, and by the subsequent denial of his motion for a new Article 32 investigation.We exercise our Article 66, UCMJ authority and set aside the findings and sentence.
MySAnews reports that:
Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, charged in November’s shooting rampage at Fort Hood that left 13 people dead and 32 others wounded, will be moved from San Antonio to a county jail near the military post.
Bell County Sheriff Dan Smith issued a statement Monday, saying Bell County commissioners court formalized a contract with Fort Hood officials in preparation for receiving Hasan at the jail in Belton.
Rapid City Journal reports that:
Government prosecutors dismissed sexual assault charges against an Ellsworth Air Force Base airman when the alleged victim did not appear at an Article 32 hearing for Sr. Airman Vinicus Santana on Tuesday.
Santana is scheduled for a court martial on April 20 for a shooting incident in Rapid City that injured another airman.
Thanks to Fourthamendement.com, here is an article about Arizona v. Gant.
Arizona v. Gant: Does it Matter? by Barbara E. Armacost of the University of Virginia School of Law in 2009 S.Ct. Rev. __ (2010).
And from the abstract:
Militarycorruption.com has some lengthy pieces about the USS COWPENS and its former CO. Here is an interesting theme to go with the picture:
Holly Graf, the female "Captain Bligh," is highly disliked and even hated by many Navy women. They feel the foul-mouthed martinet, relieved of command of the USS Cowpens for "cruelty and maltreatment of her crew," has set back female advances in the Navy for many years.
MC also points out the consistent misunderstanding of the CO being reduced in rank, rather than the actual event which was being detached for cause.
I’ve posted before about issues with forensic testing and police controlled laboratories (including military drug testing laboratories). Here is an article from my old crim law professor, a former Army JA. You’ve also heard me frequently talk about confirmatory bias in regard to police investigations and other investigations.
Paul C. Gianelli, Independent Crime Laboratories: The Problem of Motivational and Cognitive Bias, to be published in the Utah Law Review.
One of the most controversial recommendations in the National Academy of Sciences report on forensic science — Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: The Path Forward — concerns the removal of crime laboratories from the administrative control of law enforcement agencies. For decades scholars have commented on the “inbred bias of crime laboratories affiliated with law enforcement agencies.” Some commentators have proposed independent laboratories as the remedy for this problem, and in 2002, the Illinois Governor’s Commission on Capital Punishment proposed the establishment of an independent state crime laboratory. This essay documents the problems that triggered the NAS Report’s recommendation. It also examines the counter arguments as well as alternative approaches, including additional measures that should protect forensic analyses from improper influence.
Thanks to CAAFLog for a list of potential new Department of the Navy MJ’s.
Maj Troy H. Campbell, USMC, CDR Robert J. Crow, JAGC, USN, CAPT Terry C. Ganzel, JAGC, USNR, CDR George Glenn Gerding, JAGC, USNR, CDR John S. Han, JAGC, USNR, CDR Donald C. King, JAGC, USN, CDR Brian C. Lansing, JAGC, USNR, LCDR M. J. Luken, JAGC, USN, CDR Monte G. Miller, JAGC, USNR, LCDR Robert P. Monahan Jr., JAGC, USN, CDR W. A. Record, JAGC, USN, CDR Aaron C. Rugh, JAGC, USN.
Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog
