Congress is continuing its crack-down on the military’s approach to handling sexual abuse cases. Last Thursday, a new bill was introduced to the House of Representatives to create a new Department of Defense database that would provide local police departments and communities with information on military sex offenders returning home. The bill is sponsored by … Read more

Army Col. Jeffery Nance, the judge in the case of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, said this week that Bergdahl does bear some responsibility for the dangerous search missions that were launched in the wake of his 2009 disappearance. Nance’s language, however, seemed to indicate that Army prosecutors may have a limited scope in which incidents they … Read more

This week, Army Col. Jeffery Nance ruled that prior comments from Senator John McCain did not influence the decision to prosecute Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for his 2009 disappearance from a remote Army base in Afghanistan. The decision comes following Bergdahl’s lawyers’ assertion that there has been institutional pressure and bias to charge Bergdahl after his … Read more

In an unexpected decision, the United States Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) has provided an extension of the psychotherapist-patient privilege. In the court’s published order, the majority has ruled that diagnoses, prescriptions, conclusions, treatments, and other key pieces of information can remain protected as part of the psychotherapist-patient privilege under Mil. R. Evid. … Read more

Today, our military criminal defense attorney takes a look at a recent case with a seemingly strange assertion (and the appeal that repaired it). This past Friday, Army Specialist (E-4) Nathan Wilson successfully appealed a ruling that declared him guilty of housebreaking in 2013. The decision concludes a long process to undo an earlier judicial … Read more

In a dramatic split decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) has ruled that the presence of “human lie detector” testimony in a court-martial is not necessarily enough to overturn the conviction of the accused. The powerful dissenting voices in the slip opinion, however, believe that significant errors were made in … Read more

A female trainee at Fort Moore (Fort Benning) in western Georgia has accused a drill sergeant of sexual assault. In response, the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command and the Maneuver Center of Excellence has begun a criminal investigation. The drill sergeant accused by the trainee and several others have already been suspended until further notice and … Read more

In a controversial new decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that evidence collected by police during illegal stops can still be admissible in court if there are outstanding warrants. As the New York Times reports, the 5-3 split decision has drawn concern from advocates all over the country and inspired a dissenting opinion Justice Sonia … Read more

Military prosecutors have promised to provide Bowe Bergdahl a fair trial after he was charged with desertion during a tour in Afghanistan. Concerns over the ability to grant Bergdahl an unbiased trial arose during President Donald Trump’s election campaign after the then-Presidential-nominee labeled him as a “traitor”. Bergdahl has even gone as far as claiming … Read more

Earlier this year, the United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals (CAAF) made an unexpected decision rejecting the use of Military Evidence Rule 413. That decision, which ruled against the use of “propensity” evidence in sexual assault cases, has already resulted in multiple remanded cases that will now receive further review—likely to the benefit of … Read more