This week we received the decision of the Army Court of Criminal Appeals of a client accused of homosexual sexual assaults.
He had been convicted and sentenced to 14 years of confinement.
We raised many issues during his appeal. The Army Court found a serious error by the military judge in denying the defense presenting evidence of other sexual acts of the alleged victim. This issue usually comes up in a Military Rule of Evidence 412 motion. Here, the military judge botched it.
The Columbian reports:
Some people were taking the job of soldiering a bit casually on Dec. 6, 1941, says a Washougal veteran of World War II.
It took one day to change everything.
On 28 July 2010, ACCA issued a memorandum opinion and decision for the government appeal in United States v. Kirk, ARMY MISC 20100443 (A. Ct. Crim. App. 28 July 2010).
At trial the accused blew providency on an AWOL plea. The prosecution decided they wanted to go forward on the desertion. As part of the case the prosecution wanted to use unwarned statements made to the First Sergeant. The military judge said the statements were coerced, etc., and excluded them. The prosecution appealed. Of course the ACCA ruled in favor of the government that being dragged to the First Sergeant’s office, locked up, and asked a bunch of questions, was not an interrogation and any statements were voluntary. Cases cited are United States v. Duga, 10 M.J. 206 (C.M.A. 1981); United States v. Loukas, 29 M.J. 385 (C.M.A. 1990). Basically it is in the mind of the questioner, not the person being questioned.
Here is the noteworthy piece.
At least 11 of the 17 members of the Afghan military who went AWOL from an Air Force base in Texas and are considered deserters by their nation have turned up in the exact place you’d expect to find them in the year 2010.
They’re on Facebook. . . .
| MyFox TampaBay.com | The AWOL soldier accused of trying to enter MacDill Air Force Base with weapons and ammunition in his car is not a terrorist and was merely “trying to impress” his girlfriend during the incident, his father said in an exclusive interview with FoxNews.com. . . . Officials said the couple tried to enter MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., on Monday in a Honda CRV that contained three handguns, three rifles and some ammunition. |
WSMV.tv reports that:
A man suspected of deserting the Army was accused of abusing a 16-month old. The toddler is on life support.
Edwards AFB reports that:
A technical sergeant assigned to the 95th Security Forces Squadron was convicted by Special Court-Martial June 11. A panel of seven officers found him guilty of committing Adultery and he was sentenced to a reduction in rank to senior airman and 90 days of hard labor without confinement.
Air Force reports that:
Air Force officials issued guidance banning the knowing use and possession of any substance, other than alcohol or tobacco, that is ingested to alter mood or function.
Arguably many items sold at GNC at the Exchange and in the Exchange could qualify?
The islandpacket.com reports some more information on the Parris Island Marines:
A 26-year-old, gay Savannah man who claims two Beaufort Marines committed a hate crime against him last weekend was accused earlier this year of using racial slurs and trading punches with a black truck driver at a Georgia gas station. . . .
Savannah-Chatham Metro Police, the FBI and Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort officials still are trying to piece together an incident involving the same man June 12 near the intersection of Congress and Bull Streets in downtown Savannah. They also are trying to determine whether pending misdemeanor battery charges against the two Marines accused of beating him should be elevated to federal hate-crime charges.
Witnesses told Savannah-Chatham Metro Police the two Marines thought the gay man winked at one of them. One of the Marines responded by punching the alleged victim in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious.
Capital Flyer reports:
Over the past eight months, two flight engineers from the 99th Airlift Squadron, whose mission is to provide airlift support to distinguished VIPs including members of Congress, have been convicted by Special Courts-Martial of wrongfully using prescription medications. . . .
What makes these cases particularly frightening is that both of these flight engineers were on flying status and were flying missions during the time they were abusing prescription medications.
Note: Joseph was prosecuted for the flying status violation and found not guilty. I was his counsel.
Texas senator is demanding answers from the Air Force on the current status of the 10 AWOL Afghan military deserters, which he called a breach of national security.
The initial number of Afghans being floated was 17. Now:
Military.com has this piece of information which is a little different but nuanced than other reports.
Emery said it is rare for DLI students to go AWOL but it happens. An Iraqi soldier disappeared in 2009 but turned up in Houston where he asked for asylum rather than return to Iraq. A soldier from Djibouti also went missing in 2009. This year one soldier each from Tunisia and Guinea Bissau have gone AWOL.
I posted yesterday about the Afghan military personnel AWOL in CONUS.
Before it’s News now is tying this incident with this:
In late January, Senators were warned that Al Qaeda is determined to stage an attack on U.S. soil by July 2010. This information circled the media for some time, as they continually pumped images of Al Qaeda onto newscasts around the world. If this “threat” holds true than we only have 13 days left until a major attack.
A nationwide alert has been issued for 17 members of the Afghan military who have gone AWOL from a Texas Air Force base where foreign military officers who are training to become pilots are taught English, FoxNews.com has learned. . . .
A senior Defense Department official in Washington told Fox News he had no direct knowledge of the 17 men being AWOL. The official added that this is not the first time foreign trainees have gone missing, and said some cases in the past have turned out to be more of an immigration concern than a national security threat.
TBO.online reports that:
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Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog