Articles Tagged with UCMJ

CAAFLog reports:

Sens. Leahy and Kaufman and Rep. David Price introduced companion bills in the Senate and House titled the “Civilian Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act” (CEJA?), on Feb. 2, 2010.  H.R. 4567 and S. 2979 create a new section 3272 in title 18.

Both Hutchinson and her civilian attorney, Rai Sue Sussman, are happy with the results. In a press release from Sussman’s office, Hutchinson said that she is "excited to know what will happen to me, and that I am not facing jail.

“Alexis is pleased because she now will have closure and knows what is going to happen to her," Sussman told Truthout. "She is no longer waiting to possibly go to trial and jail, all the while trying to figure out what to do with her child. She feels she was treated unfairly overall, but is relieved with this outcome."

Jeff Paterson, the director of the soldier advocacy group Courage to Resist, which has assisted Hutchinson, felt that the administrative discharge was a victory all around.

Three Republicans are vying for the nomination to run for the seat and all three are military vets — but only one has the kind of star power that comes with a personal story that extends from Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan to the fast-money world of Wall Street, and includes film-making, a best-selling book, an appearance on "The Daily Show" and charges of murdering two Iraqi civilians.

But before the GOP gets too excited about seeing former Marine 1st Lt. Ilario Pantano take a seat in Congress, it had better face up to the fact that the former infantry officer isn’t your typical Red stater.  . . .

April 2004 found him leading a platoon in Mahmudiya, Iraq, where he had in custody two Iraqis he suspected were involved in anti-coalition activities. According to various accounts, Marines had already searched the men’s car and found no weapons. But when weapons were found in a nearby house, Pantano wanted the car stripped down for another search.

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals considers a conviction of “housebreaking,” under Article 130, UCMJ, to be a crime of violence for firearms possession charges in federal district court.  We frequently are asked by clients if they can still own a firearm.  The answer is a very nuanced one, as Begay and Whetzell indicate.

Appellant’s prior crime, the crime of housebreaking, occurs when "[a]ny person subject to [the Uniform Code of Military Justice] . . . unlawfully enters the building or structure of another with intent to commit a criminal offense therein. . . ." 10 U.S.C. § 930. . . .

Appellant’s primary argument against this conclusion is that the district court improperly referenced the military court’s discussion of the underlying facts of his conviction. Generally, a court is only to consider "the fact of conviction and the statutory definition of the prior offense." Taylor, 495 U.S. at 602. But the district court’s reference in this case to the underlying facts of Appellant’s housebreaking conviction, as articulated in the military court’s opinion, does not change the fact that the elements of housebreaking constitute a generic burglary crime, a crime of violence under our precedents. Further, and contrary to Appellant’s argument, the Supreme Court’s opinion in Begay v. United States, 553 U.S. 137 (2008), did not alter our decisions in regard to generic burglary and does not provide reason for reversal.

The military will formally discipline at least six officers, most from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, for failing to take action against Fort Hood gunman Nidal Malik Hasan, according to people familiar with the matter.

Officials said the move reflects the military’s belief that the Nov. 5 assault could have been prevented if Hasan’s superiors had alerted authorities to his increasing Islamic radicalization.

Dallas News reports.  Judge Pohl has been scheduled to start the Article 32, UCMJ, hearing on 1 March.

The Reid Technique is one of the more known and familiar interrogation and interview techniques used by law enforcement.  We mostly become familiar with interrogation methods because of court-martial pretrial motions practice to suppress coerced or false confessions.  The value of various police interrogation techniques is not limited to police interrogations.  A trial counsel or a defense counsel preparing for a court-martial can benefit from knowing, understanding, and practicing some of the law enforcement interview and  interrogation techniques.  (NOTE, it is unethical for an attorney to lie during a witness interview, be careful, that is one technique that is not permitted.  And it is unethical for a counsel to fail to identify themselves as a prosecutor or defense counsel when interviewing witnesses.)

Before I begin an interview, especially with a complaining witness in sexual assault case, I want to know about that person.  At the first contact, and from then on, I constantly assess the person:  their emotions, their physical and emotional responses, their word choice, their mannerisms.  I’m doing that because I want to establish rapport.  (You should of course do the same to the client.)  I’ve said this many times, but I’ve frequently been the one to educate the prosecution witnesses on the process and what’s going on and why.  That has benefitted me and my client numerous times.  The “victim” appreciates you for telling them what’s going on.  I cannot remember how many times a “victim” tells me that no one will tell them what’s going on.  Defense counsel — this is your moment to establish rapport.

If you establish rapport with a witness you will get more information, the witness will respond better to you, and the witness may be less antagonistic to the client.  I had not realized that at least one author calls this “isopraxis.”  I know it as mirroring.

I noted earlier that some accused of violating the Stolen Valor Act are challenging it’s constitutionality in situations where the person was a braggart, but did not gain or attempt to gain through the fraud.  Here is a new case of someone who likely did gain – a city job?

image

M. McBride
Contributed photo

in Houston Chronicle

A Houston man was charged on Friday with allegedly impersonating a U.S. Army general by wearing a uniform decorated with more military honors than earned by famed Gen. George Patton.

The FBI charged 44-year-old Michael P. McManus with five federal misdemeanors, accusing him of unlawfully wearing an unauthorized uniform embellished with some of the U.S. military’s most distinguished combat medals.

He is one of about 50 people charged under the 2006 Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a federal crime to falsely claim to have received a medal from the military, regardless of whether the accused does not try to profit from the deception.

One man bilked a Veterans Affairs program out of huge sums of money, while a woman received some $40,000 in tuition after telling employees at her university that she was an Air Force pilot flying in Iraq on weekends.

The Houston Chronicle reports.

According to the Department of Justice, McManus did actually serve in the Army between the years of 1984 and 1987. However, he never achieved a rank higher than private first class, nor did earn the Military Combat Awards and insignia he is accused of wearing.

As we first pointed out Friday night, those medals include two Distinguished Service crosses, a Purple Heart and a medal around his neck indicating he was the commander of the British Empire.

ABC reports.

09-10 Winter 026 09-10 Winter 023 Not going too far, how about you?

Meanwhile – – –

A Robins Air Force Base master sergeant was dishonorably discharged and sentenced to 50 years in prison after he was found guilty of engaging in sexual contact with several minors, according to The Robins Rev-Up, the Robins Air Force Base installation newspaper.

Capt. Michael A. Webb, 46, of Coto de Caza, Calif., was found unresponsive Sunday at 7:21 a.m. and was later pronounced dead at the scene, said Lt. Col. Roger Galbriath.

Webb had been placed under pretrial restraint as a result of the serious nature of his misconduct, because he failed to report to Quantico Marine Corps base when ordered, and because he was determined by an independent reviewing officer to be a flight risk.

InsideNoVA.com reports.

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