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All accused Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines are innocent until proven guilty.  That means that prior to any conviction in a court-martial, they are still Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines.  Sometimes those who are involved or who know about the upcoming court-martial forget this principle and they begin to treat that servicemember like they are … Read more

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“Consent” and “Mistake of Fact as to Consent” are two completely different defenses and one or both of them may be pertinent to your upcoming court-martial or court-martial appeal based on sexual assault charges.  These are both affirmative defenses for Rape, Aggravated Sexual Assault, Aggravated Sexual Contact and Abusive Sexual Contact.  The “consent” defense is … Read more

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In Brady v. Maryland in 1963, the Supreme Court ruled that if the prosecution fails to reveal material evidence favorable to the accused prior to his trial, a due process violation has occurred, regardless of whether the prosecution did it on purpose or not.  When this occurs today, we refer to it as a “Brady … Read more

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At the end of March, the Army Court of Criminal Appeals (ACCA) decided to change an appellant’s sentence to “no punishment” in U.S. v. Lovell.  The appellant had pled guilty to a five-year desertion, missing movement and an unauthorized absence at his court-martial and had received 6 months confinement, a bad conduct discharge and a … Read more

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Yes it happens.  In fact recently, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) has ruled that there have been errors in the military judge’s instructions in seven different court-martials this term. Not all the convictions in those cases have been reversed, but some have.   Last Thursday, CAAF decided that they will review another … Read more

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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

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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

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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

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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