William Cassara 
Yes. Your security clearance is the ticket to keeping your job. Without it, you will most likely no longer be qualified to hold your position and if you are a service member, you may be eliminated from the service. If you have recently received a letter of intent (LOI) to revoke your security clearance, you … Read more
Article 43(a) of the UCMJ establishes the statute of limitations for military offenses. The statute of limitations is the timeframe for prosecuting criminal offenses in military courts that applies to a particular offense. From 1986 to 2006, the military had five years from the date of most offenses to charge someone with that offense. The … Read more
The Military Justice Act, passed in 2016, took effect on January 1, 2019. Among the many changes to military justice practice the new law includes adjustments to sentencing procedures. These changes seem primarily to address the disparity in sentences under the previous procedures. Until this year, if an accused elected to be tried by members … Read more
Extensive changes to military justice went into effect on January 1, 2019. One of the biggest changes was the addition of a new type of court-martial. Article 16(c)(2)(A) allows a special court-martial convening authority to refer charges to a special court-martial consisting of a military judge alone. Unlike when the charges are tried at a … Read more
In 2016, Congress passed the Military Justice Act of 2016. These significant changes to the UCMJ and the Manual for Courts-Martial came into effect on January 1, 2019. While the law did create some new offenses, the biggest changes came in the procedures associated with courts-martial. Here are some of the most important changes: 1) … Read more
In early 2014, Senior Chief Barry was charged with two specifications of sexual assault. He eventually went to trial and was convicted of one specification by a military judge. The finding and sentence came up to RADM Lorge, the Commander of Naval Region Southwest-San Diego for action. Although the Rules for Court-Martial governing the case … Read more
When the Government wants to introduce a confession made by a servicemember at court-martial, it has to satisfy the requirements of Military Rule of Evidence 304. The confession must be voluntary and every essential fact in the confession must be corroborated, or supported, by independent evidence. This rule exists to make sure that individuals are … Read more
We are thrilled to report that the conviction of MSgt Richard Collins has been set aside and his conviction reversed. MSgt Collins was wrongly convicted of sexual assault. Based on our efforts on his behalf, his conviction has been set aside. You can read about it here. https://courtmartial3.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/collins_-_39296.pub_.pdf We are so happy for MSgt Collins … Read more
In recent years, much attention has been paid to the VA health system and disability ratings. However, for servicemembers who leave the military due to injury or illness, the military disability rating can be much more important. Servicemembers who have an injury or illness that keeps them from returning to full duty, known as an … Read more
If you have ever read a court-martial charge sheet, you have probably wondered how one allegation of a crime could turn into five different charges. Prosecutors frequently break an incident down into multiple offenses when they prepare the charge sheet. For example, one fistfight could end up with several specifications of assault, one for each … Read more
