The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) issued an opinion in the case of United States v. English this summer that reinforced the limitations on the authority of appellate courts. Specialist English was convicted at court-martial of several specifications resulting from a violent sexual attack on his wife. He was sentenced to 23 … Read more
The Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals recently issued a decision in the case of United States v. Begani that held that military retirees are not subject to court-martial jurisdiction. Chief Petty Officer Begani retired from the Navy in June of 2017 after 24 years of active duty service and was transferred to the Fleet … Read more
Weirick is joined by Hope Hodge Seck, journalist and managing editor at www.Military.com to discuss the courts-martial of Navy officers resulting from the deadly collisions of USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain. Guest: Hope Hodge Seck Twitter: @HopeSeck Website: www.Military.com Further reading about this case: Podcast support from The Great Courses Plus. For free … Read more
Mr. Cassara served six years on active duty in the Army JAG Corps and 16 years in the Army JAG Corps reserves. He served as a prosecutor, defense counsel and as appellate defense counsel. For more than 30 years, Mr. Cassara has represented service members of all military branches in courts-martial, appeals of court-martial convictions, … Read more
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
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
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