MILITARY LAW BLOG
BERGDAHL DEFENSE TEAM WINS CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS APPEAL
Court-martial proceedings for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl have been halted over a question of his legal team’s access to classified documents for weeks now. In a decision handed down last week, however, The United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals ruled in Bergdahl’s lawyers’ favor, saying that the legal team should have access to classified documents … Read more
LITTLE-KNOWN DESERTION CASE MIRRORS BERGDAHL STORY
For years now, the story of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl and his alleged desertion has captured headlines and incensed the public. However, he is not the only U.S. Army soldier to go missing in 2009 and, as Stars and Stripes pointsout in a new profile, one case in particular has significant similarities to Bergdahl’s own. THE STORY OF … Read more
NEW INVESTIGATION LAUNCHED IN MARINE SEXUAL MISCONDUCT CASE
A new development has emerged in the controversial case of Mark Thompson, a Marine Major who, in 2013, was convicted of carrying out an inappropriate relationship with a U.S. Naval Academy student. Now, the military has launched a new investigation of Thompson over his testimony in a controversial 2014 board of inquiry hearing. As Stars and Stripes reports, … Read more
SENATORS PUSH FOR ANSWERS ON AWOL SOLDIER ACCUSED OF CHILD RAPE
Senators Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Barbara Boxer of California are pressuring the Army due to its apparent handling of the case of Private Jameson T. Hazelbower. While accused of child rape, Hazelbower went AWOL from the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, KY and was not pursued by the Army, but incidentally apprehended … Read more
UNITED STATES V. PEASE RESULTS IN LANDMARK CONSENT DECISION
Last month, the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces made its final ruling on United States v. Jacob L. Pease, Information Systems Technician Second Class, United States Navy. Pease was initially accused and convicted of three specifications of sexual assault and one charge of abusive sexual contact but, upon appeal, those verdicts … Read more
REPORT: MORE MILITARY LEADERS FACING SEX CRIME COURTS-MARTIAL
It is nearly unheard of for a military officer to stand trial, or even be publically accused of sexual misconduct. Military records over the last few years, however, are now showing that this culture of silence and shielding military leaders from these allegations is slowly eroding. As Stars and Stripes reports, pressure on the military from Washington … Read more
IS MILITARY JUSTICE FAIR ON ITS FACE?
Whether in War or in a Criminal trial, you never want the power of the United States Government turning its attention on you. An issue has been percolating in my mind for that last few years: “Is the American Military Justice really interested in fairness?” Recent events have demonstrated to me a stark imbalance: the … Read more
BERGDAHL LAWYER FILES LAWSUIT OVER FOIA REQUEST
There has been a new development in the battle to release certain classified documents to Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s defense counsel before his upcoming court-martial: Attorney Eugene R. Fidell has filed suit against the Department of Defense, claiming that his Freedom of Information Act request to receive the documents has been purposefully delayed. Bergdahl’s legal team … Read more
NEW JUDGE ASSIGNED TO LONG-DELAYED MAJID KHAN CASE
The Guantanamo war court has assigned a new judge to the long-delayed case of terrorism suspect Majid Khan. Army Col. Tara A. Osborn, who recently gained notoriety for handling the Fort Cavazos (Fort Hood) spree shooting case, will now oversee Khan’s forthcoming guilty plea, currently scheduled for 2019. As the Miami Herald reports, Khan (who is currently … Read more
MORE BERGDAHL DETAILS REVEALED IN NEW DOCUMENTS
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s defense counsel has released documents to the press this week in an effort to quell the negative publicity surrounding his upcoming court-martial. The documents, which include debriefing interviews with Bergdahl with Army officials following his 2014 rescue, detail his rationale behind leaving his Afghanistan post in 2009. As Army Times reports, Bergdahl believed that … Read more
SERIAL PODCAST: BERGDAHL BECAME PEACE TALKS “LINE ITEM”
In the latest episode of the Serial podcast, titled “Trade Secrets,” journalist Sarah Koenig and her team delve into the details of Bowe Bergdahl’s rescue from the Taliban. What most people know as the controversial Gitmo prisoner swap of 2014 actually started off much loftier in scale-and aimed to end the war in Afghanistan. MILITARY … Read more
CONVICTED “KILL TEAM” SOLDIER TO RECEIVE APPEAL HEARING
Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs, the Joint Base Lewis-McChord Soldier who was convicted of a litany of crimes as the orchestrator of the infamous 2010 “kill team” murders, has just been granted an appeal hearing. As Stars and Stripes reports, the hearing has been granted by the Army Court of Criminal Appeals based on the submission of new evidence. … Read more