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On August 20, 2015, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) affirmed the dismissal of a case with prejudice in United States v. Stellato, because the government trial counsel did not fulfill his discovery obligations.  In other words, CAAF punished the government for the trial counsel’s utter disregard for his obligations, leaving the … Read more

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Let me start this blog by making one thing clear, not every bad result in a court-martial is due to mistakes made by your defense counsel.  There can be many reasons for a poor result.  However, sometimes servicemembers are represented by defense counsel who make costly mistakes or simply prove to be inadequate in their … Read more

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Recently, I represented Army Specialist (SPC) Burnside in his appeal of his court-martial conviction for three specifications of rape of his wife and one specification of assault consummated by a battery.  In this court-martial appeal, I submitted a brief in support of his case and I argued in person in front of his service appellate … Read more

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On 18 August 2015, in United States v. Garcia, the Army Court of Criminal Appeals (ACCA) overturned convictions of rape and forcible sodomy due to the prosecutor’s improper arguments during her closing argument and rebuttal.  In this case, four different female Soldiers alleged that appellant maltreated them by sexually harassing them.  Additionally, another female Soldier … Read more

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Recently, the Army Court of Criminal Appeals (ACCA) in United States v. Jackson reversed convictions for sexual offenses involving appellant’s teenage daughter based on improper testimony from a CID agent.  In this case, defense maintained that appellant’s confession to the offenses was a false confession.  Then, a CID agent took the stand to testify regarding … Read more

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Recently, the Army Court of Criminal Appeals (ACCA) in United States v. Rivaschivas upheld a conviction for desertion even though the appellant was charged with the offense after the statute of limitations had passed.  The reason ACCA upheld the conviction was because he deserted his unit in 2007, a “time of war,” and therefore there … Read more

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Yes.  If you have an Other Than Honorable Discharge (OTH), believe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) played a role and were previously denied an upgrade from the Discharge Review Board or the Board for Corrections, you should apply again.  Things have changed.  In September 2014, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued supplementary guidance to Military … Read more

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On 14 July 2015, in United States v. Pease, the Navy-Marine Court of Criminal Appeals (NMCCA) overturned convictions for sexual assault and abusive sexual contact.  This case involved a Navy E-5 (appellant) and two subordinate females.  The NMCCA found that appellant’s convictions for sexual assault and abusive sexual contact were factually insufficient because the government … Read more

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If you are facing a Board of Inquiry or an Administrative Separation Board, you may feel that your military career is over.  That is simply not true.  You just need to get an experienced counsel advocating for you immediately.  A Board of Inquiry is conducted when an officer is being reviewed for allegations of substandard … Read more

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In April, I blogged about the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces’ decision in United States v. Adams and the Military Rule of Evidence (M.R.E.) 304(c).  At that time, M.R.E. 304(c) stated that a confession must have some form of corroboration supporting it to be entered into evidence at a court-martial and used to … Read more