Articles Tagged with UCMJ

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Here is an unpublished opinion in United States v. Jones, No. 09-15005 (11th Cir. 17 June 2010).  I’ve commented before about how nuanced sex offender registration issues can get.

Christopher Martin Jones appeals from his sentence imposed following his conviction for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. On appeal, Jones argues that the district court erroneously found that his 1992 conviction by a special court-martial for sodomy, in violation of United States Military Justice ("UCMJ") Article 125, 10 U.S.C. § 925, constitutes a sex offense that requires registration under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, 42 U.S.C. § 16901 et. seq. ("SORNA"). Accordingly, he argues, the court abused its discretion in ordering that he register as a sex offender under SORNA as a special condition of his supervised release (special condition 5). In addition, Jones also argues that the court abused its discretion in imposing special conditions 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7 of his supervised release, which are targeted toward preventing future sexual misconduct. Relying on 18 U.S.C. § 3583(d), Jones contends that, in light of the fact that his criminal history includes only one conviction for a sex offense, and this offense occurred in 1992, these special conditions are not reasonably related to the sentencing goals set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).

For the reasons set forth below, we vacate and remand.

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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.

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Fox News reports that:

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.

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First Quon, now the Army Times reports that:

A federal appeals court says the search of a Virginia Army private’s MP3 player that found child pornography was constitutional.

Here is a link to the decision in United States v. Rendon.

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The respondent in Michigan v. Bryant has filed his brief and is found here courtesy of Professor Friedman (who indicates a likely amicus filing on his part).

Here is the QP:

Whether preliminary inquiries of a wounded citizen concerning the perpetrator and circumstances of the shooting are nontestimonial because they were “made under circumstances objectively indicating that the primary purpose of the interrogation is to enable police assistance to meet an ongoing emergency,” including not only aid to a wounded victim, but also the prompt identification and apprehension of an apparently violent and dangerous individual?

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The U.S. Supreme Court decided City of Ontario v. Quon today.  Quon is a case about searching pagers and cellphones.

Our clients convicted of child pornography offenses and certain other offenses in which the internet is case related are restricted in computer access post-release.  I mention Quon because of an interesting comment at Sentencing Law & Policy. 

I recently had to deal with the Federal Probation Service and the Air Force Clemency & Parole Board about a former now paroled client alleged to have improperly used computers to search for employment.  Employment is necessary for parole, and most state funded employment offices, and many employers require applicants to use computers to search for a job or to apply for a job.  We resolved the case in the client’s favor and parole was not revoked.  The parole and FPS rules do allow computer use in limited circumstances related to seeking employment.  The rules are bureaucratic and subject to misunderstanding.  Basically the rules require a new “permission” to use a computer each time.  So going to Home Depot in the AM and Lowes in the PM requires two permissions.  So, here is the SL&P comment on an aspect of Quon.

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Sad to say some homecomings are not that good.  As a CV SJA we always prepared for extra legal assistance business upon return from an extended at sea period.  In one instance after cruise one Sailor returned “home” to find himself locked out and a stranger answering his “knocks.”  Sad to say the spouse had – well — moved out and taken everything.  So in some sense I’m not surprised with this report from Army Times.

A woman has been charged with bigamy for allegedly marrying another soldier while her husband was deployed to Iraq.

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TBO.online reports that:

The soldier who tried to get into MacDill Air Force Base with a fake ID and a car full of weapons and ammunition is being transferred back to the Kansas fort he ran away from, according to the U.S. Army.

Christopher P. Kilburn, 26, was assigned to Fort Riley on April 30, 2009. He was reported AWOL on April 6 and dropped from the personnel rolls of the unit May 6, according to a news release from Fort Riley.

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I first posted on this here.  More information about the case is seeping out.  Some of this may be circular reporting.

Fox5News (Las Vegas) reports:

The Army isn’t saying what motivated the killings of three Afghan civilians, whose deaths have led to charges against a Nevada soldier and four others from Washington state’s Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

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