UCMJ Tag Archives — Page 42 of 51 — Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog

Senior Guardsman to be court-martialed for malfeasance in office?

January 9, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

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.

Major Hasan update pretrial confinement conditions.

January 8, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

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:

Major Hasan update – is this wise

January 8, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

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.

Ellsworth 32 status.

January 7, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

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.

New prisoner abuse investigation

January 7, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

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.

Stolen Valor news [corrected]

January 7, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

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.

Major Hasan news today

January 7, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

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.

Post-post-trial

January 7, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Clemency & Parole after a lengthy court-martial sentence can be hard to get. For Navy and Marine Corps cases parole requires a parole plan and a place to live.

The Camp Pendleton-based squad leader is serving an 11-year sentence for killing an unarmed Iraqi civilian. But the sheriff in his hometown in Massachusetts wants to hire him. Reporting from San Diego – A Marine from Camp Pendleton, convicted of murdering an unarmed Iraqi civilian, has a job waiting with the sheriff’s department in his hometown in Massachusetts once he is released, a Navy parole board was told Wednesday.

LA Times reports.

Rapping rap

January 6, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

An Army specialist is in jail, accused of making threats against fellow soldiers, including in a vulgar, violent rap song that describes shooting those responsible for his stop-loss orders.

Spc. Marc Hall, an Iraq veteran based at Fort Stewart, Ga., has been in custody since early December. He’s been charged with “conduct prejudicial to the good order and discipline of the armed forces,” allegedly threatening violence on multiple occasions, according to Army charge sheets.

Stars & Stripes reports.

SEAL update

January 6, 2010 | The Law Office of Philip D. Cave

Navy prosecutors have asked a judge to delay the trials of two SEALs accused in connection with the alleged assault of a reported al-Qaida terrorist — apparently because of evidence issues.

Navy Times reports.

If as is indicated there are classified document issues, then it is clear this trial will take time to complete. Having participated in many classified trials, with one ongoing, over the years I would say that it will take several months to resolve the issues. Each of the counsel may well have to get security clearances established. The time to get clearances will be a function of the classification levels involved. And then there may be Mil. R. Evid. 505 issues.