There are so many things to talk about regarding alcohol. Quite a few of my cases root issues stem directly from too much alcohol. Sleeping behind the steering wheel after you have had too much to drink is a terrible idea. You might think that you are doing the right thing, getting in your car, … Read more
The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) has noticeably changed its views on military crimes of a violent nature. President Trump has recently approved and signed the annual defense authorization act, which has made domestic violence its own separate criminal violation with a specific statute describing the crime and potential penalties. In the past, domestic violence conducted … Read more
The Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) recently deemed Colonel Wilson’s child sex abuse conviction to be factually insufficient, with a focus on inconsistent testimonies from the six-year-old child who alleged the abuse. Not only did the CCA question the validity of the conviction, but it did so with multi-thousand-word opinion piece rarely seen before in … Read more
Navy Officer Gallagher avoided nearly all charges in his war crimes case, which was complicated by prosecutorial tampering. Although the prosecution’s unusual attempts to spy on the defense was not directly cited in the ruling, it still carries implications for future similar cases. GALLAGHER CONCLUDES WITH ONLY ONE CONVICTION Edward Gallagher of the U.S. Navy … Read more
The military criminal defense case of Navy SEAL and Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher has been complicated from the start. He stands accused of multiple charges surrounding the death of an Islamic State prisoner in 2017, including charges of premeditated murder, aggravated assault, wrongful use of controlled substances, and more. The case, however, got even cloudier recently when Gallagher’s … Read more
The Air Force Academy has made a significant rule change in order to encourage service members to report incidents of sexual assault from other airmen and airwomen. In specific, “collateral” misconduct violations and their related penalties will not be filed against someone who comes forward with a sexual assault allegation. Underage drinking, fraternization, and recreational drug use are all … Read more
On September 5th, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) ultimately agreed to reverse the original sexual assault conviction in the Navy case of United States v. Barry. However, the process to undo that conviction and reach a new conclusion is largely contested, with the CAAF split as to how to decide and … Read more
A 3-2 divided Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) recently decided the case of U.S. v. Gleason, finding that an accused cannot be charged with a novel specification under Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) if the same criminal violation can already be described in the Manual for Courts-Martial (MCM), … Read more
In a surprising decision that will send shockwaves throughout the military criminal justice system, the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals (NMCCA) has held that it is unconstitutional to use Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) Article 2 to court-martial a retired service member. Within Article 2, it specifically says that court-martial jurisdiction applies to “retired members of … Read more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) has maintained that the statute of limitations on rape of an adult charges, without any aggravating factors, is set at five years. The CAAF reached its unanimous conclusion after reviewing the potential penalties for such rape charges. Since rape fitting the charge definitions cannot be … Read more