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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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One of the most common complaints I hear from my clients is that they feel like they have been mistreated by their command.  Many of these clients will then say, “I just wish there was something I could do about it.”  Well, maybe there is something that can be done.  You may be able to … Read more

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My strong opinion is that you SHOULD NOT speak to the media about your court-martial or other military case.  Could it get you some attention if you do?  Sure, but it is usually not positive attention.  One of the reasons I advise against it is because like when you speak to an investigator, your words … Read more

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Pleading guilty at a court-martial is a different than when a civilian pleads guilty at his civilian criminal trial.  In a court-martial involving a guilty plea, the military judge conducts what is called a “providence inquiry.”  During this inquiry the military judge has a lengthy discussion with the accused servicemember on the record about the … Read more