Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog
Rapid City Journal reports that:
Senior Airman Vinicus "Vinnie" Santana’s court martial begins today at Ellsworth Air Force Base. . . . The Pennington County State’s Attorney’s office initially charged Santana with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault for the shooting of another airman – David Piland, 21. Those charges were dropped and Santana was turned over to military authorities for prosecution in October.
Stars & Stripes reports that:
A U.S. Army staff sergeant was reduced in rank to E-1 and given four months of confinement and a bad-conduct discharge after pleading guilty earlier this month to hazing new soldiers in his unit and striking another.
islandpacket.com has this update on the two Marines arrested in Savannah, GA.
The two men were released from the jail later Saturday to an Army unit commander from Hunter Army Airfield, who then called their Marine unit commanders in Beaufort, said Gunnery Sgt. Chad McMeen, an air station spokesman. Both men have been placed on barracks restriction until this morning, when their commanding officers will decide what steps to take next, he said.
They face charges in Chatham County as well as possible military non-judicial punishments, McMeen said. If military police deem the crime as serious or if the charges in Georgia are elevated, the two also could face court martial, he said.
Note, there is no double-jeopardy issue if both the state and the military decides to prosecute.
FindlawBlotter has this reminder about the potential for flaws in breathalyzer testing. I’ve posted before about the potential for inaccuracy in the military breath testing – here, and here.