You have heard the phrase “getting off on a technicality.”  Every so often an appealing servicemember is able to get his or her conviction overturned because the government counsel or the military judge made an administrative error during the court-martial.  Recently, the Army Court of Criminal Appeals (ACCA) reversed an aggravated assault charge because the … Read more

If you were discharged within the last 15 years, you can still apply to your service discharge review board for a discharge upgrade.  Even if it has been more than 15 years, you may be able to get your application reviewed by one of the Boards for Correction of Military Records.  So, bottom line, it … Read more

In today’s political environment, if you or your loved one is facing charges involving a sexual offense, you may feel that the cards are stacked against them.  This is not true.  The rules of evidence are what they are.  Military Rule of Evidence 412 is one that everyone thinks exists to the protect the alleged … Read more

Yes, sometimes.  Voluntary intoxication can be a defense to “specific intent” crimes.  Specific intent crimes are those that require the accused to be in a specific mental state (mens rea) at the time of committing the crime.  To put it simply, specific intent crimes require that the accused did a certain act with a specific … Read more

If you have received an adverse evaluation report, you may be wondering how to proceed.   When it comes to rebutting and appealing evaluation reports, one size does not fit all.  Each of the services has a unique approach to evaluation reports.  For example, the Navy’s approach to Fitness Reports is not exactly the same as … Read more

The Court of Appeals for Armed Forces (CAAF) has agreed to review an Army appellate case in which I am serving as the appellant’s counsel, U.S. v. Macdonald.  In April 2008, my client, Private First Class (PFC) Macdonald was prescribed Varenicline (popularly known as Chantix), to help him stop smoking.  Around the same time that … Read more

This past week on February 24, 2014, the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals (AFCCA) in United States v. Seton upheld a military judge’s decision to dismiss a case with prejudice when the government lost a piece of key evidence.  The key evidence in the case was a video surveillance tape that taped events occurring … Read more

Cell phones contain a huge amount of data.  Think about what you have on your own cell phone, including but not limited to, pictures, texts, telephone logs, e-mails, links to your bank accounts, etc.  Is this information protected from an illegal search under the 4th amendment?  Yes.  The law is clear that we all have … Read more

If you are looking to correct something in your military records, you may be thinking of applying or maybe you already have applied to your service Board for Correction of Military Records.  There are three of them, representing the Army, Navy and Air Force.  I have an enormous amount of experience assisting servicemembers, retirees and … Read more

Under Article 2(a) of the U.C.M.J., a reservist can only be subject to a court-martial if the government shows that he or she was serving on inactive duty training or was otherwise serving on active duty during the time of the offense. At his court-martial, Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Morita was charged with forging hundreds of documents … Read more