Court-Martial Trial Practice BlogIntroducing evidence or refreshing recollection?
TC: May I approach the witness?
MJ: Yes.
Articles Tagged with UCMJ
MJ Summer Camp – III
A constant frustration – how to impeach (and typically with the book is sitting there on counsel table).
Complaining Witness: Blah, blah, blah.
Defense counsel: Now Ms. Complaining Witness you received an Article 15 . . . . (“Objection,” – “Sustained.” [DC looks at judge with a ‘what did I just do’ attitude.]).
Wanat fall-out
I previously posted about an Army decision to rescind GOMR’s for several officers involved in the Wanat event. [Military to open new investigation into battle that killed nine soldiers, and here.] Here are links to a two parter by Tom Ricks on Wanat in Foreign Policy:
The families respond I
Several relatives of soldiers killed at the battle of Wanat on July 13, 2008, have contacted me to express their unhappiness about the Army’s recent decision to rescind letters of reprimand to officer who oversaw that fight.
Up periscope
From on the road.
Marine Corps Times has this survey.
Does “drop and give me 20” cut it? Or does he warrant a tougher punishment — maybe standing at parade rest for hours at a time, or spending all night cleaning the barracks? Or would that be considered hazing?
MJ Summer Camp – II
Your client is charged with burglary, theft, and false official statement. You call a good Sailor witness. The witness testifies. Imagine the questions I asked in MJ Summer Camp I, or just as easily that there has been no prior impeachment cross-examination.
Trial counsel: LTC Witness, does a good Sailor commit burglary? No.
Trial counsel: LTC Witness, does a good Sailor commit theft? No.
NMCCA sets aside a rape conviction
United States v. Ruiz should sound familiar to most defense counsel – the basic facts that is. An adultery case becomes a rape allegation.
In particular I recommend:
Reporting the Alleged Rape
On the night of the alleged rape, after returning to the barracks, AN P did not report the rape or tell anyone what happened. Id. at 548. Seaman (SN) M testified, contrary to AN P’s testimony, that the next day, a smiling AN P pulled him aside, told him “we did it,” and explained that she and the
appellant had feelings for each other. Id. at 1146. In the next few days, AN P discovered that rumors were spreading about her being in a hotel room with the appellant. Id. at 552, 570, 592. SN C testified that he had previously counseled AN P when she told him she “liked” the appellant, a married man. Id. at 551, 676, 688. When he confronted her with the new rumors and she explained her version of events, he reported it to the command. Id. at 683. AN P testified that she would not report it because she was afraid she would get into trouble or be kicked out of the Navy for being in a hotel room with a married man. Id. at 552-55, 572, 683. AN P testified that about a week after the alleged rape, upon learning she would not get in trouble as long as she was not “cooperating” with the appellant, she reported the incident, when confronted by a SAVI advocate, a chief, and a member of law enforcement. Id. at 572. The manner in which the rape was reported raises further doubt as to why AN P made the accusation.
Another LIO case
Here is an interesting Order in United States v. Aguilar where the court has specified an issue.
Whether assault consummated by a battery in violation of Article 128, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 928, of which the appellant was convicted, is a lesser included offense of the charged Rape by Use of Physical Violence in violation of Article 120, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 920, if the proof does not show the assault is the alleged act of physical violence that compelled sexual intercourse.1
The footnote is:
MJ Summer Camp – I
A constant pet frustration – lack of understanding of how to impeach. Let’s look at this from a common witness situation – the good military character witness.
Witness: Blah, blah, blah.
Witness: In my opinion Private Rumpelstiltskin is a good Soldier.
We know close enough when we see it
FourthAmendment.com has this post:
Today is the 26th anniversary of United States v. Leon and the good faith exception.
When I remembered that this morning, I had a flash back to the last CLE I did for prosecutors about 1990 where the speaker after me referred to July 5th as "Independence Day from the Fourth Amendment." There was rousing applause from the audience. This was in Memphis, and it is a telling commentary on the thinking of law enforcement and the Fourth Amendment.
Judge Richardson please come back
I was going through a couple of old cases looking for some information to use in a current case. Here’s a interesting curative instruction. Coming across this lead me to muse about how strange and how frequently seasoned law enforcement witnesses “forget” that there are certain words or issues they are not supposed to testify about. It’s gotten so bad that I have a standard motion in-limine on HLD. Here’s how one judge dealt with a forgetful law enforcement witness (after he’d agreed with my motion in-limine that the law enforcement witnesses should be instructed on HLD stuff prior to testifying).
The “error” came out in the witness’s first sentence.
MJ: Please be seated. The court will come to order.