Military Law

Fired by feds over critical op-eds, former Gitmo chief prosecutor settles free-speech case for $100K

In a mixed victory over free-speech rights, a former chief prosecutor at the military tribunals at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba has agreed to accept a $100,000 settlement from his subsequent employer, because he was fired based on his critical op-eds about Gitmo. However, the settlement…

Jun 2, 2016 1:30 PM CDT

Lawyers for admitted Sept. 11 mastermind allege secret order authorized destruction of evidence

Lawyers for admitted Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed say the military judge overseeing the case issued a secret order authorizing destruction of evidence that would have helped the defense. The defense lawyers told reporters on Wednesday that secrecy rules prevent them from revealing what kind of evidence was destroyed.…

May 12, 2016 11:27 AM CDT

ABA expresses concerns about some proposed changes to the military justice system

Legislative proposals for sweeping changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, while many agree are much needed, contain some elements that prompted the American Bar Association to ask Congress to carefully consider some possible consequences, as detailed in letters sent today to leaders of the committees on Armed Services…

May 5, 2016 5:05 PM CDT

Concerned about veteran with PTSD, judge orders him to jail and serves the time with him

A North Carolina judge who sentenced a veteran to 24 hours in jail for a probation violation was worried how the time alone would affect the defendant’s post-traumatic stress disorder. So the judge served the time with him. For most of the night, Judge Lou Olivera and defendant Joseph Serna…

Apr 22, 2016 9:33 AM CDT

Robert MacCrate, former ABA president, dies at age 94

Updated: Robert MacCrate, a courtly Sullivan & Cromwell lawyer whose many accomplishments included introducing himself in song in 1987 as the American Bar Association’s incoming president, died Wednesday. He was 94 years old. Backed by four ABA staff members as a professional pianist played, MacCrate brought down the house at…

Apr 7, 2016 5:43 PM CDT

Defense Department wants group to lift ban on psychologists’ participation in interrogations

The Department of Defense is asking the American Psychological Association to lift its blanket ban on psychologists participating in national security interrogations for the military and intelligence agencies. A Defense Department official says in a letter to the association that the policy, adopted last summer, “could adversely affect the recruitment…

Jan 26, 2016 6:15 AM CST

En banc 9th Circuit nixes conviction of vet who wore unearned medals, cites free speech

A federal appeals court has nixed the criminal conviction of an Idaho man who served in the U.S. Marine Corps but never earned medals he later wore, including the Purple Heart. Finding a portion of the Stolen Valor Act unconstitutional under First Amendment standards, an 11-judge en banc panel of…

Jan 12, 2016 12:20 PM CST

Bergdahl to face court-martial on charges carrying a possible life sentence

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is facing court-martial charges that could bring a life sentence, despite an initial recommendation against any jail time for the accused Army deserter. Gen. Robert Abrams made the decision on Monday to refer Bergdahl to court-martial on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, report…

Dec 15, 2015 9:34 AM CST

2nd Circuit rules Justice Department doesn’t have to disclose additional drone-strike memos

The U.S. Justice Department doesn’t have to disclose about 10 documents regarding the legal basis for targeted drone killings of noncitizens overseas, a federal appeals court has ruled. The October decision by the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was unsealed on Monday, report the New York Times…

Nov 24, 2015 10:25 AM CST

Lawyers for accused leader of Benghazi attacks seek sanction for alleged illegal interrogation

Lawyers for a man accused of leading the attacks on the U.S. embassy compound in Benghazi, Libya, contend that his interrogation while on a U.S. Navy ship violated his right to due process. Assistant Federal Defender Mary Petras told a federal judge on Thursday that her client, Ahmed Abu Khattala,…

Nov 20, 2015 10:15 AM CST

9th Circuit: Child porn evidence doesn’t have to be tossed, though NCIS violated federal law

An en banc federal appeals court has ruled that U.S. Navy investigators violated federal law when they provided evidence in a civilian child pornography case, though the decision won’t benefit the defendant. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to toss the evidence against Michael Dreyer of…

Nov 5, 2015 11:31 AM CST

Convicted in WikiLeaks case, Chelsea Manning uses time behind bars to draft anti-spying bill

One of the country’s best-known leakers of classified government information has been using some of her time behind bars to draft a bill that would curtail U.S. spying powers. Convicted in a high-profile military secrets case involving material provided to WikiLeaks, former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning revealed the…

Nov 3, 2015 4:15 PM CST

Book: 4 federal lawyers OK’d raid in which Bin Laden was slain before consulting AG Eric Holder

Working in such secrecy that even the U.S. attorney general was not consulted until the attack was about to take place, four senior federal lawyers drafted legal memos approving in advance the fatal raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan in 2011. To ensure that news of the planned…

Oct 29, 2015 12:45 PM CDT

Military hearing begins for accused Army deserter Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl

The United States Army laid out its case Thursday for court-martialing Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl on charges of desertion and endangering other soldiers, the Associated Press reports. Bergdahl, a 29-year-old man from Idaho, was part of a high-profile prisoner exchange with the Taliban in 2014. The exchange became a political issue,…

Sep 17, 2015 4:35 PM CDT

After UK kills citizens in Syria in drone strike, critics question policy

Four years after a U.S. killing of an American-born cleric in Yemen through a drone strike sparked concern and criticism, the U.K. is facing similar questions about the drone-strike deaths last month of two British men in Syria. The target, Reynaad Khan, 21, was said to be an Islamic State…

Sep 9, 2015 2:44 PM CDT