Military Law Blog

William E. Cassara, Military Law Attorney

Top Military Court to Consider Legal Sufficiency of Sexual Assault Conviction

October 18, 2023

The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces recently granted a petition for review in the Army case of United States v. Mendoza. SSG Mendoza was stationed in Korea with a female Specialist. The Specialist had been off post for dinner and drinks and then returned and joined a group that included SSG Mendoza at … Read more

Court of Federal Claims Vacates Army Board for Correction of Military Records Decision

September 25, 2023

A judge in the Court of Federal Claims recently issued a decision in the case of Guardado v. United States. Guardado had been a Master Sergeant in the Army when he was convicted of several offenses at court-martial in 2014. He was sentenced to eight years confinement, total forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and … Read more

Discharge Review

Court of Appeals Sets Aside Sentence In Involuntary Manslaughter Case

September 11, 2023

The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces recently decided the case of United States v. Harrington. Airman First Class Harrington was tried and convicted of involuntary manslaughter, communicating a threat, and the unlawful use of cocaine and marijuana. The drug and threat specifications resulted from a separate incident from the involuntary manslaughter offense. The … Read more

NCIS Expunges Sailor’s Name from Federal Background Check Records After Change in Law

August 28, 2023

On January 1, 2021, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 took effect. One of the provisions of that law significantly improves servicemembers’ chances of getting their names removed from the federal DCII and NCIC background check databases. The new law allows a servicemember who was investigated by military law enforcement agencies to … Read more

Court of Appeals Reverses Lower Court and Dismisses Charges After Unlawful Command Influence

August 16, 2023

Unlawful command influence has been called the “mortal enemy” of military justice. Article 37(a)(3) of the UCMJ prohibits any person subject to the UCMJ from attempting to coerce or, by any unauthorized means, attempting to influence the action of a court-martial. Some common examples are when a command prevents other servicemembers from testifying on behalf … Read more

Army Appellate Court Sets Aside Guilty Plea After Military Judge Enters Ambiguous Finding

August 1, 2023

Prosecutors sometimes create specifications that cover multiple instances of the same alleged criminal behavior. For example, in a domestic violence case where the servicemember is accused of assaulting his spouse on several occasions over a period of time, this can be charged as one specification of assault occurring “on divers occasions” over that period. This … Read more

 Bergdahl wins in DC federal district court

July 25, 2023

 District Court Judge decides important case regarding the ability to attack a court-martial conviction in civilian courts.  Read more: https://courtmartial.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Bergdahl-Decision.pdf For a consultation on your case, contact us at bill@courtmartial.com.

Court of Appeals Holds That Victim Impact Presentation Did Not Prejudice Servicemember

July 21, 2023

The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces recently decided the case of United States v. Cunningham. Senior Airman Cunningham was convicted of murdering his infant son. He was sentenced to eighteen years confinement, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, reduction to E-1, and a dishonorable discharge. During the sentencing proceedings, the baby’s mother and … Read more

Court of Appeals Determines That Servicemembers Do Not Have The Right To A Unanimous Verdict

July 1, 2023

In 2020, the United States Supreme Court decided the case of Ramos v. Louisiana. In Ramos, the Supreme Court held that the Sixth Amendment right to a jury included the requirement that jury verdicts be unanimous in order to convict. Since that time, military practitioners have been arguing to the military courts of appeal that … Read more

air force drug conviction

Navy-Marine Corps Court Overturns Manslaughter Conviction

June 14, 2023

The Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals recently decided the case of United States v. London. Lance Corporal (LCpl) London was in Boston with two friends when they encountered several members of the Emerson College men’s and women’s lacrosse teams at an apartment building. LCpl London’s group of three spoke for a while with a … Read more