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New 2019 Manual for Courts-Martial PDF Presidential Order For those interested, here are some Army training materials on the new amendments to the Manual for Courts-Martial. This is an executive summary of the major changes to military law starting in January 2019. Over the next three months, we’ll be updating our page, our book, and...

On March 16, 1968, Soldiers were accused of killing hundreds of civilians in My Lai, Vietnam. The Company Commander – Captain Medina – was accused of shooting a woman, a small boy, and generally failing to control his troops. He was acquitted of all charges.As a young Judge Advocate, Gary Myers became involved in the court-martial of...

In 2003, reports of prisoner abuses at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison were made public.With a presidential election looming in 2004, the politics surrounding prosecution of cases was significant. Mr. Myers became a key player representing one of the Soldiers. The case was memorialized in the book “The Lucifer Effect.” ​ ​News Articles The New...

On 19 June 2018, in US v. Dinger, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces set aside some previous precedent suggesting that retired members could not receive a punitive discharge at a court-martial.10 U.S.C § 6332 states that when a member in the Naval Service is placed in a retired status, that “transfer is conclusive...

On 22 June 2018, the United States Supreme Court issued their ruling in the Carpenter case.The case could have some application for military practitioners. The use of digital forensic evidence is becoming increasingly common. Law enforcement often seeks to examine cell phone data, computer hard drives, phone company records, and now GPS data. We’ve certainly...

Yesterday we reported that an experiment at the military drug labs showed that leakage during the shipping process could potentially cross-contaminate negative samples. Later yesterday, we received word that the Army and Marine Corps were hitting the pause button on all drug-related courts-martial and administrative separation actions until further notice to assess this information.

Yesterday we received a Brady notice regarding the military drug labs. Brady, of course, is a landmark Supreme Court case holding that in a criminal case the Government must turn over to the defense all information that tends to exonerate the accused. Basically, an employee of the military drug labs expressed concern that discrepancy codes at...

In December 2017, the Army published results for 35 courts-martial. Given the holiday month, 35 is ten to fifteen trials below average. As a military defense firm, we’re largely tracking how defendants are faring in contested trials. In other words, are juries returning not guilty verdicts. Overall, results in contested sexual assault trials were overwhelmingly favorable...

On 4 March 2007, Marine Corps Special Operations Command members came under attack during a deployment to Afghanistan. After engaging the threat, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Counsel later alleged that upwards of 19 civilians were killed and 50 were injured. Mr. Conway and the firm represented one of the Marines involved in engaging the enemy....

July 2017 Army Court-Martial Results On 7 September 2017, Senator Gillibrand – citing data from 2015 involving 4 installations alleged that fewer sexual assault cases are going to trial resulting in fewer convictions. I’m not convinced her data is current. In July 2017, military juries convicted in 100% of the contested sexual assault trials. The...