The Army Lawyer 2020 Issue 4

Court Is Assembled: Putting Principled Counsel into Action

Tue, 21 May 2024 19:49:50 GMT

Instead, there’s nuance and context. And context always matters. Take questions like: How do we find a way to fund food and fuel for the Peshmerga to ensure they tend their border areas, when they don’t “fit” our current view of U.S. legislation’s intended beneficiaries of funded support?

News & Notes

Fri, 17 May 2024 18:01:00 GMT

News & Notes 2020 Issue 4

News & Notes: 211th OBC Graduation Speech

Fri, 17 May 2024 18:01:00 GMT

On 2 July 2020, the outgoing Dean at The Judge Advocate General’s School, Colonel (COL) Jerrett W. Dunlap Jr., addressed the 211th Officer Basic Course (OBC) graduating class. This was COL Dunlap’s final duty as Dean before he departed to become the Staff Judge Advocate, V Corps, Fort Knox, Kentucky.

Book Review: The Mosaic Principle

Fri, 17 May 2024 18:00:00 GMT

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

Lore of the Corps: From Shining Shoes to CW5

Fri, 17 May 2024 17:59:00 GMT

Warrant officers (WO) have served alongside Army lawyers as early as the 1920s, but were not officially a part of what was previously known as the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Department—now known as the JAG Corps—until World War II, when the Department received its first warrant officer authorizations.

Azimuth Check: You Asked Me How I Feel

Fri, 17 May 2024 17:59:00 GMT

Teammates, you have asked me recently, “How do you feel about racism, social injustice, police brutality, discrimination, and inequality in America toward Black Americans?” My first response to this question was: “Why do you want to know?” You are asking about an open wound—be careful what you ask for, because the answer may be more than you are prepared to digest.

Practice Notes: War, Peace, and Pandemic

Fri, 17 May 2024 17:58:00 GMT

In January 2020, when the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) began sweeping across mainland China and the world quickly thereafter, command teams immediately started to plan their attack against the spread of the virus. The initial messaging focused on remaining calm and instructing people that washing their hands and cleaning surfaces would be enough to slow—if not stop—the virus’s spread.

In Memoriam: George Bahamonde

Fri, 17 May 2024 17:58:00 GMT

It was the fall of 1974, and I was teaching a class in International Law to the Advance Course—now, the Graduate Course. As was the case for all U.S. Army The Judge Advocate General’s School courses at the time, the class took place in Clark Hall—the old University of Virginia Law School.

An Antidote for Toxic Complaints

Fri, 17 May 2024 17:57:00 GMT

It is an unfortunate reality that some complaints are filed for wicked reasons. Every Soldier has a powerful voice to correct wrongs, and individuals have multiple tools through which they can raise issues to—or in some cases about—the chain of command. But these processes can be weaponized to deflect allegations of misconduct or to inflict revenge for just discipline. There is no process to screen malicious complaints, particularly when they are not obviously implausible.

Advising the Ethical Playing Field

Fri, 17 May 2024 17:57:00 GMT

[E]thics seem to serve as both the first line of defense in maintaining order and the last line of defense in preserving honor. Ethics also prove difficult to teach, because instilling an idea in someone that they must subsume their own identity into something larger and more important than themselves is a task to which not all are equal.

Using RCM 703A to Build a Better Case

Fri, 17 May 2024 17:56:00 GMT

An unknown suspect. An uncorroborated eyewitness account. An encrypted device. What is the common thread between these unrelated investigative issues? The solution to all three can often be found in digital evidence maintained by third-party service providers. Evidence that trial counsel can now obtain.

Why Scholarly Publishing Matters for JAs

Fri, 17 May 2024 17:56:00 GMT

Military lawyers often have valuable experiences and original ideas that could make important contributions to the law, the military, and society; but, it takes motivation and—some may argue—knowledge of the inside game to get those ideas published and shared.

No. 2: Assessing Leaders from the Bottom Up

Fri, 17 May 2024 17:55:00 GMT

Our sons and daughters of this nation deserve good leadership. If you look at readiness, if you look at combat power, the most important element of that is not technology. It’s not the guns, the planes, the ships. It’s not the weapons. It’s not the computers. It’s the people, and, most importantly, it’s the leaders.

No. 1: Considerations for the New Contract Trial Attorney

Fri, 17 May 2024 17:55:00 GMT

You are the newest trial attorney in the Army’s Contract and Fiscal Law Division (KFLD). You’ve gotten up to speed on all the ongoing cases you inherited upon your arrival and are working through the issue of entitlement for a particular appeal before the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (the Board or ASBCA).

No. 3: Exceptions to Ex Parte Communications

Fri, 17 May 2024 17:54:00 GMT

[The no-contact rule] contributes to the proper functioning of the legal system by protecting a person who has chosen to be represented by a lawyer in a matter against possible overreaching by other lawyers who are participating in the matter, interference by those lawyers with the client-lawyer relationship, and the uncounseled disclosure of information relating to the representation.

No. 4: Jack of All Trades, Master of One

Thu, 16 May 2024 15:26:00 GMT

In 2017, Lieutenant General (LTG) Charles N. Pede, The Judge Advocate General (TJAG) of the Army, announced a shift in the Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG Corps) career model to deliberately develop expertise in one or two particular areas.

No. 5: How 9/11 Changed the JAG Corps Forever

Thu, 16 May 2024 15:18:00 GMT

As the Regiment looks back, it is remarkable to think about how the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps was catapulted into the deep, complex, and intense legal environment that ensued as a result of the events that took place on 9/11—and why it matters.

Closing Argument: The Calm in the Storm

Thu, 16 May 2024 15:17:00 GMT

The concept of judge advocates providing principled counsel has long been part of the culture of our Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps, even though we did not term it as such. Often, we may have taken it for granted, but it was always there.