A few days ago I posted about the military rapper pending court-martial for his music.
It seems that he has a website and is now “promoting himself as the first hip hop president of the world, reports Coastal Courier.com. (Caution bad language.)
A top official in the Massachusetts National Guard faces possible removal by court-martial after state and federal investigations uncovered a range of alleged improprieties, including misusing federal money, hiring a convicted felon to do legal work, and threatening a whistleblower.
Yesterday, Murray received a hand-delivered letter accusing him of “waste, fraud, and abuse’’ and ordering him to resign by day’s end or face a court-martial convened by Governor Deval Patrick. State officials could not find a documented court-martial in recent Massachusetts history.
Murray informed the Guard that he would fight the charges, officials said.
Hasan is paralyzed from the chest down and bedridden in a military hospital in San Antonio, says Galligan. He says the U.S. Army command has imposed rules that allow for a closed-circuit television camera in Hasan’s room for Hasan’s and others’ safety; bar visits from anyone except Hasan’s family members and his lawyers and limit those visits to one hour (Galligan does not know if this time limit is per day or per visitor); require all visitors to provide picture identification; restrict all communications with Hasan to English; and require that an interpreter be present if another language is spoken.
Law.com reports.
I don’t have any legal quibble with restricting visitors to family members. That’s certainly the type of discretion and restriction you might see in pretrial confinement facilities, as well as post-trial situations. Visitation has to be a balance between allowing visits and concerns for security. As most regulations say:
Belton, Texas, solo John Galligan, who represents Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, says he has added a close relative of Hasan’s from out of state to the defense team as of Tuesday. Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who allegedly went on a shooting spree at Fort Hood on Nov. 5, is facing a possible court martial.
Galligan says he added the relative to make it possible for that relative to visit with Hasan for more than a few hours a week and to do so without being observed and possibly videotaped by Army investigators. Galligan declines to identify the relative.
Law.com reports.
Eyewitness Identifications and State Courts as Guardians Against Wrongful Conviction
Sandra Guerra Thompson
University of Houston Law Center
Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, Forthcoming
University of Houston Law Center No. 2010-A-1
Abstract:
Despite a growing awareness that mistaken eyewitness identifications contribute significantly to wrongful convictions, most courts continue to apply federal due process criteria for admissibility of eyewitness identification that has proved useless in protect against the use of highly unreliable evidence. In response, this Article reviews the path-breaking decisions of several State Supreme Courts that have blazed their own trail. It explores the issues that courts have addressed, the rules they have devised, and the legal grounds for their decisions, and from this, concludes that State Supreme Courts can implement appropriate criteria that would in fact promote accuracy and fairness in the use of eyewitness identification.
Part I briefly outlines and critiques the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence on eyewitness identifications and due process. It treads on ground well-worn by scholars who have for decades decried the Court’s failure to provide a due process test that would protect against the use of unreliable identification evidence. Part II explores the role that State appellate courts can play in developing a jurisprudence of eyewitness identification evidence that meaningfully incorporates social science research and carefully balances the interests of law enforcement and the accused.
Finally, because of the superior role that judges have in protecting both constitutional and civil rights as well as the integrity of the administration of criminal justice, the article concludes that it is incumbent on State Supreme Courts to show leadership in developing solutions to the problems that plague this area . Accordingly, Part III argues that State Supreme Courts are well-suited to take an active part in the “laboratory” model of criminal justice that characterizes our federalist system.
A lot of our court-martial cases have alcohol as a factor. So, while a little off topic, I thought this curiosity might be of interest.
A woman had a blood-alcohol level of .708 percent, possibly a state record, when she was found earlier this month behind the wheel of a stolen vehicle parked on Interstate 90.
A state chemist recalled a sample that tested .53, but nothing higher, in his more than 30 years on the job.
An airman shot during a disagreement with a fellow airman appeared indecisive about what actually happened in a Rapid City apartment last September.
Piland recalled fighting with Santana and holding him in a choke hold, but did not remember statements he made to civilian investigators. He also had no recollection of portions of his testimony before a Pennington County grand jury.
Santana initially faced charges in Pennington County for shooting Piland three times. Those charges were dropped and he was turned over to military authorities for prosecution in October.
The U.S. military has begun investigating allegations that two Afghan teenagers were beaten and humiliated by guards while in American custody last year at a secret detention center at Bagram Air Base, according to U.S. and Afghan officials.
The Washington Post reports. It appears an AR15-6 investigation is ongoing. Too early to tell what will come of this and whether there will be a court-martial or other disciplinary action.
A retired Coast Guard chief warrant officer 2 who claimed to be a decorated and combat-hardened SEAL — and managed to get a disability rating from the government — has pleaded guilty to wearing combat awards he did not earn.
He also claimed to have earned the Silver Star, Bronze Star with “V” for valor, Purple Heart with four stars, a Combat Action Ribbon and Vietnam War-era awards. The Coast Guard clerk bought the story and added the awards to Barnhart’s DD 214. Later DD 214 alterations would add a Navy Commendation with “V” device, Presidential Unit Citation with three stars, and Vietnamese Medal of Honor First and Second Class.
reports Navy Times.
An unarmed man tried to visit the army psychiatrist charged in a deadly shooting spree at Fort Hood, Texas on Wednesday by posing as his lawyer, officials said.
When that ruse didn’t work, the man told hospital security that he was Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan’s doctor.
Reports Military.com.
Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog