Since Denedo, and definitely since Padilla, military defense counsel must tell a client about the potential for deportation.

A former U.S. Marine from Jamaica who was convicted by special court-martial of having sex with a girl younger than 16 is eligible for deportation, the Third Circuit ruled.

Gurson Gourzong, a native of Jamaica, was admitted to the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident in 1983, and thereafter joined the U.S. Marine Corps.

The National Post (Canada) reports:

The Canadian Forces has distributed 120,000 wallet-size cards to military personnel to remind them that sexual assault is an “inappropriate” behaviour.

The cards are to be carried by military staff on the job, including when they are sent overseas.

On 20 May 2016, the President, exercising his powers under UCMJ art. 36, signed an executive order amending the Manual for Courts-Martial.  Changes to the rules of evidence are included.  It was a change to Rule 311 that has draw significant attention and discussion among the UCMJ literati.  Basically, a military judge grants suppression when

“exclusion of the evidence results in appreciable deterrence of future unlawful searches or seizures and the benefits of such deterrence outweigh the costs to the justice system.”

Mil. R. Evid. 311(a)(3) (2016).

Yes, is my answer, or at least that is my answer in a brief filed with the Army Court of Criminal Appeals and in several arguments at court-martial.

Under Mil. R. Evid. 801(2), you can offer the out of court statements of an opposing party or certain statements of that parties lawyer as evidence.  Such evidence is not hearsay.

(d) Statements that Are Not Hearsay.

Worth the read is a pending Supreme Court petition that may have impact on military cases.

Issue: Whether the Confrontation Clause permits the prosecution to introduce an out-of-court, testimonial translation, without making the translator available for confrontation and cross-examination.

That is the issue in Ye v. United States, a history of which can be found at SCOTUSBlog.

SecNav has signed a new policy on administrative separations for misconduct where the person has a mental health issue.

To protect Sailors and Marines suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI) or any other diagnosed mental health condition, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus has made his department the first in the military to assure such conditions are considered before separating a service member.

Previously a service member’s misconduct took precedence over diagnosed mental health conditions when considering separation, which impacted the veteran’s ability to receive benefits. Now, if it contributed to the misconduct, the medical condition will take precedence.

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