The Air Force JAG amends the certified issue in Chin
In the certified case of United States v. Chin, No. 15-0749/AF, the Air Force JAG is challenging the CCA’s authority to disapprove pleas of guilty (but approve the adjudged sentence) due to...
View ArticleNavy JAG certifies issues in Sterling (and the appellant files her brief)
In the Marine Corps case of United States v. Sterling, No. 15-0510/MC (previously discussed here and here and here), CAAF will consider whether (and, if so, how) the Religious Freedom Restoration Act...
View ArticleArgument Preview: United States v. Pease, No. 16-0014/NA
CAAF will hear oral argument in the certified Navy case of United States v. Pease, No. 16-0014/NA (CAAFlog case page), on Tuesday, January 12, 2016. The court will review the published decision of the...
View ArticleArgument Preview: United States v. Chin, No. 15-0749/AF
Disclaimer: I authored an amicus brief on behalf of the Marine Corps Defense Services Organization and in support of the appellee’s position in this case. The brief is available here and is discussed...
View ArticleCAAF specifies an additional issue in Gay
In United States v. Gay, __ M.J. __, No. 38525 (A.F. Ct. Crim. App. Jun. 12, 2015) (discussed here), the AFCCA held that the appellant’s confinement in solitary confinement (where he was alone 23 hours...
View ArticleNavy JAG certifies Howell
Last month, in this post, I reviewed the 4-4 en banc decision of the NMCCA on a Government petition for extraordinary relief in United States v. Lieutenant Colonel Jones, Military Judge, and Howell,...
View ArticleArgument Preview: United States v. Clark, No. 16-0068/NA
CAAF will hear oral argument in the certified Navy case of United States v. Clark, No. 16-0068/NA (CAAFlog case page), on Tuesday, March 15, 2016. The case presents a Government challenge to the...
View ArticleOpinion Analysis: The NMCCA properly defined “incapable of consenting” in...
CAAF decided the certified Navy case of United States v. Pease, 75 M.J. 180, No. 16-0014/NA (CAAFlog case page) (link to slip op.), on Thursday, March 17, 2016. Rejecting both certified issues, CAAF...
View ArticleArgument Preview: United States v. Martin, 15-0754/MC
CAAF will hear oral argument in the Marine Corps case of United States v. Martin, 15-0754/MC (CAAFlog case page), on Wednesday, April 6, 2016, at 9 a.m., at the Wood Auditorium at the Air Command and...
View ArticleOpinion Analysis: A CCA need not order a rehearing, nor did the CCA abuse its...
CAAF decided the certified Air Force case of United States v. Atchak, 75 M.J. 193, No. 16-0054/AF (CAAFlog case page) (link to slip op.), on Tuesday, April 12, 2016. Observing that Article 66(d)...
View ArticleArgument Preview: United States v. Sterling, No.s 15-0510/MC & 16-0223/MC
CAAF will hear oral argument in the Marine Corps case of United States v. Sterling, No.s 15-0510/MC & 16-0223/MC (CAAFlog case page), on Wednesday, April 27, 2016, at 9:30 a.m. The case presents...
View ArticleOpinion Analysis: A court of criminal appeals may grant relief for errors...
Disclaimer: I authored an amicus brief on behalf of the Marine Corps Defense Services Organization and in support of Chin. CAAF decided the certified Air Force case of United States v. Chin, 75 M.J....
View ArticleOpinion Analysis: CAAF won’t bend its filing deadlines to suit the Government...
CAAF decided the certified Air Force case of United States v. Williams, __ M.J. __, No. 16-0053/AF (CAAFlog case page) (link to slip op.) on Tuesday, May 3, 2016. Concluding that the Air Force...
View ArticleOpinion Analysis: A reanimated Article 10 in United States v. Cooley, No.s...
CAAF decided the certified Coast Guard Case of United States v. Cooley, __ M.J. __, No.s 15-0384/CG & 15-0387/CG (CAAFlog case page) (link to slip op.), on Friday, May 6, 2016. In a lengthy opinion...
View ArticleArgument Preview: Determining whether a military judge can award credit for a...
CAAF will hear oral argument in the certified Marine Corps case of United States v. Howell, Nos. 16-0289/MC & 16-0367/MC (CAAFlog case page), on Wednesday, May 11, 2016, at 9:30 a.m. The case...
View ArticleCatching up with CAAF’s docket: One certification, three grants (two...
On April 29 the Air Force JAG certified Fetrow: No. 16-0500/AF. U.S. v. Justin L. Fetrow. CCA 38631. Notice is hereby given that a certificate for review of the decision of the United States Air Force...
View ArticleOpinion Analysis: CAAF will not meddle in the CCA’s factual determinations in...
CAAF decided the certified Navy case of United States v. Clark, __ M.J. __, No. 16-0068/NA (CAAFlog case page) (link to slip op.), on Tuesday, May 17, 2016. In a short opinion the court rejects the...
View ArticleArgument Preview: Determining what’s admissible as evidence of child...
CAAF will hear oral argument in the certified Air Force case of United State v. Fetrow, No. 16-0500/AF (CAAFlog case page), on Tuesday, October 25, 2016, at 9:30 a.m. The case presents two issues...
View ArticleMore fun(?) with deadlines
Having solved CAAF’s dismissal of the petition for review in Rivera, we can now speculate about this denial of an extension of time for the Judge Advocate General of the Navy to certify a Government...
View ArticleThe Air Force JAG certifies a case involving the scope of a remand
Military law recognizes three types of re-trials: a rehearing, a new trial, and an other trial. See R.C.M. 810. A rehearing (on findings, sentence, or both) may be ordered when findings or sentence are...
View ArticleThe Army JAG certifies a Government appeal involving the scope of a warrant...
Right on the heels of CAAF’s grant in Richards (discussed here) comes this certification by the Judge Advocate General of the Army yesterday: No. 17-0139/AR. United States, Appellant v. Justin M....
View ArticleA certification and a grant
At the end of last month CAAF received a certification from the Army JAG and the court granted review in a Coast Guard case. The certification involves a Government appeal of military judge’s ruling...
View ArticleArgument Preview: Reviewing a military judge’s suppression ruling in United...
CAAF will hear oral argument in the certified Army case of United States v. Gurczynski, No. 17-0139/AR (CAAFlog case page), on Wednesday, March 15, 2017, after the argument in Richards. A single issue...
View ArticleArgument Preview: Self-incrimination and decryption of a mobile phone in...
CAAF will hear oral argument in the certified Army case of United States v. Mitchell, No. 17-0153/AR (CAAFlog case page), on Tuesday, April 4, 2017, at at 12:30 p.m., at the Notre Dame Law School,...
View ArticleOpinion Analysis: CAAF affirms the Air Force CCA’s reading of Mil. R. Evid....
CAAF decided the certified Air Force case of United States v. Fetrow, __ M.J. __, No. 16-0500/AF (CAAFlog case page) (link to slip op.), on Monday, April 17, 2017. Reviewing the Air Force CCA’s...
View ArticleKatso returns to CAAF, and it’s (maybe) more interesting than the first time
In United States v. Katso, 74 M.J. 273 (C.A.A.F. Jun. 30, 2015) (CAAFlog case page), CAAF reversed the published decision of the Air Force CCA that found a Confrontation Clause violation in the...
View Article(Updated) Recent CAAF docket activitity: A (likely doomed) certification...
Update: While I initially noted five grants of review, I only wrote about four. I eventually realized that I failed in counting to five and now update this post to include the fifth grant (in Bailey)....
View ArticleArgument Preview: A messy confluence of the failure to state an offense, the...
CAAF will hear oral argument in the certified Air Force case of United States v. Carter, Nos. 17-0079/AF & 17-0086/AF (CAAFlog case page), on Tuesday, May 9, 2017, after the argument in Claxton....
View ArticleThe Army JAG certifies a case about Article 62 (updated)
Article 62 authorizes interlocutory appeals by the prosecution in a court-martial in various situations, including of: An order or ruling which excludes evidence that is substantial proof of a fact...
View ArticleThe Army JAG certifies Gould back to CAAF
CAAF docketed this certification on Friday: No. 17-0507/AR. U.S. v. Orval W. Gould, Jr. CCA 20120727. Notice is hereby given that a certificate for review of the decision of the United States Army...
View ArticleOpinion Analysis: Nine months and an intervening conviction make any search...
CAAF decided the certified Army case of United States v. Gurczynski, __ M.J. __, No. 17-0139/AR (CAAFlog case page) (link to slip op.) on Monday, July 24, 2017. Rejecting a Government interlocutory...
View ArticleHale gets certified and Mangahas gets a grant
CAAF docketed two new cases on Monday. First, the Judge Advocate General of the Navy certified Hale, which I discussed here. The NMCCA reversed Hale’s convictions, and authorized a rehearing, because...
View ArticleOpinion Analysis: A custodial interrogation without the benefit of requested...
CAAF decided the certified interlocutory Army case of United States v. Mitchell, __ M.J. __,No. 17-0153/AR (CAAFlog case page) (link to slip op.), on August 30, 2017. Because continued questioning of a...
View ArticleArgument Preview: Determining when a prosecution appeal is authorized, in...
CAAF will hear the first oral argument of the 2017 term on Tuesday, October 10, 2017, at 9:30 a.m., in the certified Army case of United States v. Jacobsen, No. 17-0408/AR (CAAFlog case page). A single...
View ArticleCAAF summarily rejects the Army JAG’s certification of Gould
Last week CAAF summarily affirmed the Army CCA’s decision in United States v. Gould, No. 17-0507/AR: No. 17-0507/AR. U.S. v. Orval W. Gould, Jr. CCA 20120727. On further consideration of Appellant’s...
View ArticleCAAF rejects the certified issue in Hale; expands review of whether the mere...
CAAF just updated its daily journal with events from last week, including two significant developments. First, the court rejected the certified issue in Hale as seeking an advisory opinion, and...
View ArticleA certification (about IMC) and a grant (about a search)
CAAF added two new cases to its master docket yesterday, one a certification from the Judge Advocate General of the Navy, and the other a grant. First, the certified case: No. 18-0282/NA. United...
View ArticleNavy JAG certifies defense questions about the good faith exception to the...
The Fourth Amendment generally requires law enforcement obtain a warrant prior to seizing or searching property, and the warrant must be based on probable cause. Any evidence discovered in violation of...
View ArticleThe Air Force JAG certifies Collins
Back in July the Air Force CCA issued a decision in United States v. Collins, 78 M.J. 530 (A.F. Ct. Crim. App. Jul 23, 2018) (discussed here), in which it reversed a 2017 conviction for a rape alleged...
View ArticleArgument Preview: (Re-)Interpreting the good faith exception, in United...
CAAF will hear oral argument in the certified Marine Corps case of United States v. Perkins, No. 18-0365/MC (CAAFlog case page), on Tuesday, January 22, 2019, after the argument in Smith. The Judge...
View ArticleCAAF grants to consider an appellant’s competency, and the Air Force JAG...
Last week CAAF granted review in an Army case and the Judge Advocate General of the Air Force filed a cross-certification in a case in which CAAF granted review last month. First, the grant: No....
View ArticleCAAF summarily affirms in Collins
On Tuesday CAAF summarily affirmed the Air Force CCA’s decision in United States v. Collins, 78 M.J. 530 (A.F. Ct. Crim. App. Jul 23, 2018) (discussed here), certified, 78 M.J. __ (C.A.A.F. Nov. 5,...
View ArticleCAAF grants Collins a writ of habeas corpus
Last year, in United States v. Collins, 78 M.J. 530 (A.F. Ct. Crim. App. Jul 23, 2018) (discussed here), the Air Force CCA applied CAAF’s decision in United States v. Mangahas, 77 M.J. 220 (C.A.A.F....
View ArticleOpinion Analysis: CAAF insists that Mil. R. Evid. 311(c)(3) does not mean...
CAAF decided the certified Marine Corps case of United States v. Perkins, __ M.J. __, No. 18-0365/MC (CAAFlog case page) (link to slip op.), on April 23, 2019. Selectively reading Mil. R. Evid. 311...
View ArticleCAAF affirms another Mangahas trailer
Yesterday’s daily journal contains this summary disposition: No. 19-0345/AF. U.S. v. Humphrey Daniels III. CCA 39407. On consideration of the issue certified by the Judge Advocate General of the Air...
View ArticleThe Air Force JAG certifies an issue about an instruction not requested at...
On Monday CAAF docketed this certification by the Judge Advocate General of the Air Force: No. 19-0398/AF. U.S. v. Chase J. Easterly. CCA 39310. Notice is given that a certificate for review of the...
View ArticleOpinion Analysis: No error in the military judge’s consideration of charged...
CAAF decided the Air Force case of United States v. Hyppolite, II., 79 M.J. __, Nos.19-0119/AF & 19-0197/AF (CAAFlog case page) (link to slip op.), on August 1, 2019. Reviewing a military judge’s...
View ArticleThe Navy JAG certifies case about authority to issue a search authorization
On Friday CAAF docketed this case certified by the Judge Advocate General of the Navy: No. 19-0437/MC. U.S. v. Roberto Armendariz. CCA 201700338. Notice is given that a certificate for review of the...
View ArticleAir Force JAG certifies a case about the good faith exception
On Tuesday the Judge Advocate General of the Air Force certified this case to CAAF: No. 20-0071/AF. United States, Appellant v. Jason M. Blackburn, Appellee. CCA 39397. Notice is given that a...
View ArticleThe Army JAG certifies a case about a major change that triggers the statute...
On Friday CAAF docketed this certification from the Army: No. 20-0119/AR. U.S. v. Antonio T. Moore. CCA 20180692. Notice is hereby given that a certificate for review of the decision of the United...
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