Many bases and posts throughout the United States do not have their own confinement facilities. The commanders of these installations often enter into Memorandums of Agreement (MOA) with local civilian jails to hold pretrial detainees, servicemembers serving a short sentence, or servicemembers awaiting transfer to a military confinement facility. The conditions at these local jails … Read more
In 2017 the Navy court-martialed retired Chief Petty Officer Begani for offenses that occurred after he retired from active duty. Chief Begani was convicted and appealed his conviction, arguing that the military should not have jurisdiction to try retired servicemembers for offenses that are committed while they are retired. Initially, a three-judge panel of the … Read more
The firm of William E. Cassara successfully represented an Army Officer before the Department of Defense Consolidated Adjudications Facility resulting in having his clearance restored. Among the allegations the Officer faced was that he had mishandled protected information and had misused information technology systems by exceeding his authorized access on classified systems. Part of his … Read more
We recently successfully petitioned the Board for Correction of Navy Records on behalf of an enlisted Marine to upgrade an Other than Honorable discharge to General, Under Honorable Conditions. The Marine had undiagnosed PTSD that contributed to his marijuana use. The BCNR agreed that the PTSD was a mitigating factor in the misconduct, and voted … Read more
The Army Court of Criminal Appeals issued an opinion in United States v. Guinn this week, disapproving 18 months of a four year sentence over restrictions imposed by a confinement facility. SSG Guinn was convicted of one specification of sexual abuse of a child and sentenced to a dishonorable discharge, confinement for four years, total … Read more
The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) recently published its opinion in United States v. Mader reversing a Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals decision in a case involving an NCO’s charged hazing of junior Marines. A Sergeant with 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines was executing orders out of the unit. A few days … Read more
The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) released its first opinion of the October 2020 term. In United States v. White, the Court upheld a military judge’s ruling excluding evidence discovered during a search.
NMCCA issued an opinion in the case of US v Lewis this week. Sgt Lewis was convicted of three specifications of failure to obey a lawful order, one specification of sexual assault by causing bodily harm, one specification of indecent viewing, and one specification of assault consummated by a battery. On appeal, Sgt Lewis argued … Read more
The Army Court of Criminal Appeals (ACCA) recently decided the case of United States v. Henry. The case concerns the Government’s appeal of a military judge’s decision not to allow certain statements made by the alleged victim and her son at trial. Hearsay Rules of evidence generally do not allow parties to introduce hearsay statements … Read more
We represented an Army CW3 who received a GOMOR for allegedly failing to show up for work during COVID 19 and achieved a great result for our client.