The Army Lawyer 2023 Issue 2

Court Is Assembled: The Office of Special Trial Counsel

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 15:40:00 GMT

An underlying philosophy of American government is that its legitimacy rests on “the consent of the governed,” and that consent is conditioned on public trust that the system will operate justly. The truism that “[n]obody cares how much you know until they know how much you care” applies as much to organizations as it does to individuals.

News & Notes

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 15:39:00 GMT

2023 Issue 2

Pivotal Perspective: United States Army Trial Defense Service and Military Justice Next

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 15:38:00 GMT

There is no more fulfilling job and exhilarating feeling than to stand next to your client when the military judge says, “Accused and defense counsel, please rise,” and then hear the fact-finder state, “To all charges and their specifications, not guilty.” In the more than forty years since its establishment, the U.S. Army Trial Defense Service (USATDS) has provided principled counsel and zealous representation of our Soldiers who defend America, nesting within the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps mission to “provide principled counsel and premier legal services.”

What’s It Like? What Does It Mean to Be a Special Trial Counsel Noncommissioned Officer

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 15:36:00 GMT

What does it mean to be a special trial counsel (STC) noncommissioned officer (NCO)? What does it mean to be an Army paralegal? While there are many characteristics, traits, and work philosophies that could answer these questions, it is personally meaningful to be able to articulate exactly what it means to be a paralegal within the Office of Special Trial Counsel (OSTC) and what qualities best serve an aspiring NCO.

Azimuth Check: Ten Years In

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 15:33:00 GMT

Military justice is certainly not new as a practice area within our Army; military justice predates the very founding of our country. Mirroring the history of our own Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps, the practice of military justice can trace its roots all the way back to 1775 and the Articles of War established by the Second Continental Congress.

Lore of the Corps: A Prisoner of the Japanese and a Judge Advocate

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 15:31:00 GMT

Cecil L. Forinash, who served in our Corps from 1950 until 1969, had a very successful career as an Army lawyer, including tours as the staff judge advocate (SJA) at Fort Carson, Colorado, Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty), North Carolina, and at VII Corps, Stuttgart, Germany

Military Justice in the Army: The Evolution of Courts-Martial from the Revolutionary War Era to the Twenty-First Century

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 15:30:00 GMT

No one would argue with the statement that military justice in the Army has changed from the last quarter of the eighteenth century, when General George Washington commanded a Continental Army of between 10,000 and 25,000 soldiers, to the first quarter of the twenty-first century, when the American Army consists of an active force of some 475,000 men and women, with thousands more in the Army Reserve and Army National Guard. This article explores that change—or evolution—in military justice over the last 250 years.

Practice Notes: The New and Improved Residual Hearsay Exception

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 15:29:00 GMT

The residual hearsay exception offers a unique, oft-misunderstood route to overcoming the ubiquitous and dreaded hearsay objection from opposing counsel. Making its original appearance in the Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE) in 1975, the residual hearsay exception was adopted for courts-martial practice as part of the 1980 amendments to the Military Rules of Evidence (MRE).

Practice Notes: How to (Try to) Prevent a Continuance

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 15:28:00 GMT

Military justice practitioners (MJPs) must seek the swift execution of justice; they also require expert witnesses and consultants. This can lead to tension between speedy justice and ensuring enough time for experts to assist in the process.

Practice Notes: Can I Get a Witness?

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 15:27:00 GMT

The Confrontation Clause affords criminal defendants, including Service members, the right to confront witnesses whose statements are used against them at trial. Confrontation Clause analysis is the first step in determining admissibility of a non-present witness’s oral or written statements. The “principal evil” avoided through the Confrontation Clause is entry of inculpatory evidence without giving the accused adequate opportunity to test its veracity by examining the witness who asserted it.

No. 1: This Is Not Your Grandparents’ Military Justice System

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 15:25:00 GMT

This is a companion piece to the authors’ recent publication in the Military Law Review titled Transforming Military Justice: The 2022 and 2023 National Defense Authorization Acts.

No. 2: Excerpts from the Fiftieth Kenneth J. Hodson Lecture on Criminal Law

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 15:24:00 GMT

On 10 April 2023, Colonel (Retired) Larry Morris delivered the Fiftieth Kenneth J. Hodson Lecture on Criminal Law. His remarks touched on challenges facing practitioners, some suggested approaches, and some recommendations and observations on the military justice system. What follows are excerpts from those remarks. The full lecture will be available in the Military Law Review, volume 231, issue 2.

Closing Argument: Graduation and Investiture Remarks to the 66th Military Judges Course

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 15:13:00 GMT

On 9 June 2023, Lieutenant General Stuart W. Risch, The 41st Judge Advocate General, U.S. Army, delivered the following remarks to members of the staff and faculty, distinguished guests, and officers attending the graduation ceremony for the 66th Military Judges Course at The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, Virginia.