The FayObserver reports that lawyers for Timothy Hennis have asked a military judge to grant a new court-martial. A hearing has been tentatively scheduled for January. Hennis was sentenced to death in April for the 1985 killings of a Fayetteville woman, Kathryn Eastburn, and her two daughters. The court-martial was Hennis’ third time standing trial for the […]
Upon hearing of the Lakin sentence, I thought it was a bit light on confinement, given that he’d skipped a 1 year deployment that 2 others had to fill (1 on very short notice). On further analysis, I reasoned that the members had given the harshest, longest-impact option in the dismissal because that will preclude […]
The New York City Bar Association has joined Attorney General Holder in denouncing legislation currently working its way through Congress that would prevent detainees currently held at Guantanamo Bay from being transferred to the United States for any purpose, including for prosecution. Defense Secretary Gates also expressed his opposition to such a restriction a number of months ago. As […]
Our courtroom observer reports from a lunch break that LTC Lakin pled guilty to the specifications of Charge II for violating Article 92, UCMJ, by failing to obey lawful orders. Apparently, Judge Lind ruled the 4th specification was multiplicious for sentencing (see more on this at caaflog) with other specifications, so that spec is now gone. […]
I went to the Behenna oral argument at ACCA this morning. As expected, it was a full house with plenty of family and family friends, congressional staffers (this case has generated high-level interest in the Sooner State), uniformed appellate lawyers, media, and random interested observers. I even caught a glimpse of the trial judge in […]
It’s expected to be a packed house at tomorrow morning’s Army Court of Criminal Appeals argument in the Behenna case that we’ve previously discussed regarding the lieutenant convicted of killing a detainee in Iraq. There are several issues that could prove fruitful for the defense–discovery issues involving potentially exculpatory expert testimony and instructional error regarding […]
This past week’s news brings word of the young, mid-career, and the not-so-wet-behind-the-ears military members finding themselves in trouble, plus another seasoned veteran getting his conviction wiped out. It turns out that one of the midshipmen accused of kicking in a door at a private residence is the son of the admiral who commands the carrier group that includes […]
On Tuesday, Staff Sgt. Robert Stevens acknowledged his guilt in a case arising out of Afghanistan. He pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment for throwing a grenade from a Styker vehicle, aggravated assault for firing his M4 in the general direction of two Afghan civilians, but missing, dereliction of duty and two specifications of making a […]
NIMJ is proud to announce the publication of NIMJ Reports from Guantanamo, Volume 3. The report can be downloaded on our publications page. You may request a hard-copy version by emailing nimj@wcl.american.edu. This volume includes pieces by Gary Solis, one of the preeminent experts on the law of armed conflict, Elizabeth Hillman, professor of law at University of California Hastings […]
When Spc Morganne McBeth died in Iraq in July, her family began a quest for answers to how this happened. Over the course of the next several months, her family heard various stories of an accidental self-stabbing, an accidental stabbing by a fellow soldier, and then that the death was a homicide. Now comes news […]