Military Law

‘Lawful conduct of war’ analysis in DOJ memo justified killing of US citizen in Yemen

The September 2011 killing of a U.S. citizen in Yemen in a targeted drone strike was determined to be justified, in a prior U.S. Department of Justice legal memo, as “lawful conduct of war.” Released Monday in a redacted version by the DOJ, the memo says the strike was authorized…

Jun 23, 2014 7:59 PM CDT

Claimed leader in Benghazi slaying of US ambassador is captured, will be tried here

In a secret raid over the weekend, the U.S. captured a suspected leader of the fatal Sept. 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. embassy compound in Benghazi in which the American ambassador to Libya was slain. Ahmed Abu Khattala was captured Sunday near Benghazi by U.S. Special Operations forces and…

Jun 17, 2014 6:10 PM CDT

Pentagon seeks Manning transfer to civilian prison for gender treatment

The Pentagon is seeking to transfer a defendant in a very high-profile military secrets case to a federal civilian prison so she can receive treatment for a gender disorder. Convicted last year as Bradley Manning in a court-martial for giving WikiLeaks a large quantity of classified military documents, Private Chelsea…

May 14, 2014 7:55 PM CDT

Raid on defense lawyer offices at Camp Pendleton was ‘rare event,’ Marine Corps officials say

Marine Corps defense lawyers at Camp Pendleton are contacting dozens of clients to inform them about a raid on the lawyers’ offices earlier this month. Lt. Col. Clay Plummer, the Marine Corps’ regional defense counsel for the West, tells the Associated Press the May 2 raid was “just unacceptable.” The…

May 12, 2014 11:57 AM CDT

Pentagon announces 50% increase in sexual assault reports in military

Reports of sexual assaults in the military rose 50 percent last year, according to a Department of Defense study released Thursday, reports the Washington Post. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said during a press conference that sexual assaults are a threat to both women and men in uniform, and promised…

May 1, 2014 8:53 PM CDT

State court grants name change for soldier Chelsea Manning

Chelsea Elizabeth Manning, the soldier formerly known as Bradley Manning who was convicted of leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks, was granted a formal name change Wednesday. The request was granted by Leavenworth County, Kan., District Judge David King, the Associated Press reports. Manning is serving her 35-year sentence at Fort…

Apr 23, 2014 7:20 PM CDT

Military’s highest court voids more than 30 decisions by improperly appointed civilian judge

The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the highest court in the U.S. military, has ruled that a civilian judge was improperly appointed to the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals. The ruling means multiple cases will be reheard by the AFCCA. According to the military justice blog CAAFlog,…

Apr 23, 2014 3:18 PM CDT

Report: Secret order by military judge requires CIA to reveal ‘black site’ info in USS Cole case

A secret order filed under seal by a military judge in the USS Cole bombing case orders the Central Intelligence Agency to reveal to the defense so-called “black site” details about the overseas detention and interrogation of the defendant over a period of several years. Relying on information from unidentified…

Apr 17, 2014 4:25 PM CDT

Fort Hood shooter was being evaluated for PTSD

The Iraqi war veteran who opened fire at Fort Hood on Wednesday, killing three others before taking his own life, was being evaluated for post-traumatic stress disorder, according to Fort Hood’s senior officer, Lt. Gen. Mark Milley. Sixteen others were wounded in the attack, report the New York Times, the…

Apr 3, 2014 11:54 AM CDT

High-profile military sexual assault trials stoke controversy

The separate sexual assault cases which concluded this week against an Army general and a U.S. Naval Academy midshipman have stoked the ongoing debate over how the military and the military justice system deal with such cases, the Associated Press reports. Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair entered a guilty plea to…

Mar 21, 2014 7:18 PM CDT

General avoids jail in sexual misconduct case

Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair received a reprimand but no jail time Thursday for mistreating a captain who was also his mistress. The New York Times calls the punishment “a sweeping victory for the defense.” Sinclair will be allowed to remain in the military, although he has plans to retire, his…

Mar 20, 2014 5:10 PM CDT

Facial recognition database leads feds to fugitive 37 years after prison escape

A man who escaped from federal prison in Kansas in 1977 while serving a 23-year sentence for a premeditated murder and aggravated assault committed while he was a U.S. Army private was arrested in Florida on Thursday. James Robert Jones was tracked down, nearly 37 years later, after the Army…

Mar 14, 2014 4:45 PM CDT

Politics could have influenced rejection of general’s plea bargain, military court says

Military leaders may have unlawfully interfered in a plea offer made by Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair, a judge in the trial found Monday. Sinclair is accused of sexually assaulting a captain who reported to him. According to the Guardian, Judge Col. James Pohl on Monday stated from the bench…

Mar 11, 2014 11:00 AM CDT

Yale law students help file class action to seek benefits for thousands of Vietnam vets with PTSD

Working at a Yale Law School clinic intended to help U.S. military veterans obtain benefits from the Veterans Administration, law students soon realized they were dealing with a bigger problem. A number of the older veterans who came to the clinic received less-than-honorable discharges because they had been displaying symptoms…

Mar 3, 2014 10:45 PM CST

Supreme Court rules against antiwar protester, but doesn’t reach First Amendment issue

A designated protest area at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California qualifies as part of a military installation that can be declared off limits to a long-time protester, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in an opinion considering the protester’s statutory arguments. The court ruled on Wednesday against antiwar protester…

Feb 26, 2014 5:13 PM CST