Coming to a TV screen near you

CBS will soon be running a new series about military justice, called The Code, according to this item in TV Insider:

The Code, starring TV vet Dana Delany (Body of Proof, Desperate Housewives) will premiere on Tuesday, April 9, following an NCIS lead-in. It will then will move to its regular Monday slot on April 15, after Magnum P.I. completes its season order. The Code is a drama about the military’s brightest minds who take on our country’s toughest legal challenges, inside the courtroom and out. It focuses on the only law firm in the world where every attorney is trained as a prosecutor, a defense lawyer, an investigator — and a Marine.

Why is this case in military court (or any court)?

Here we go again. An Egyptian military court has convicted the former (civilian) national auditor of saying false things about the country's military. Details here.

So much for free speech, and so much for the human rights jurisprudence that strongly disfavors the trial of civilians by military courts.

Compounding a crime?

One can't help but wonder about the disposition of a recent strangling case in South Korea. Task & Purpose has the story here. Was the victim bought off? Were the U.S. government's interests served? Was the strangling a minor offense? Would the disposition have been different if the decision were up to a lawyer independent from the chain of command?

For your bookshelf

Global Military Justice Reform contributor Wg Cdr (ret) Dr. U C Jha has published another book: Ethics in the Indian Military. From the publisher's site:

In today’s tempestuous environment, the issues of indiscipline, corruption and criminality in the armed forces reflect broader issues of military ethics, culture and leadership. A military leader has to motivate his followers to achieve maximum results with minimum friction within the group. The ability to motivate men stems largely from the ability to understand them. It is time for military leaders to do some soul-searching on the components of military ethics. The book argues that the existing legal and policy framework is inadequate to regulate behaviour in the barracks as well as in conflicts. It recommends reforms in the military legal system, incentives, practices and training. This book is for policy makers in the armed forces, military officers, military lawyers, academics, journalists, and those with an interest or professional involvement in the subject.

Congratulations, Wg Cdr Jha! 

New website of interest

Check out the new website Protect Our Military Children. From the home page:

On military installations across the United States and overseas, juvenile-on-juvenile sexual assault goes unprosecuted. Shouldn't military child sexual assault victims, and their families, be protected?

Elsewhere the website reports:

Congress passed legislation in 1970 permitting the relinquishment of federal jurisdiction over military installations to the surrounding states through a process known as retrocession of jurisdiction. However, it left the decision to seek retrocession to the discretion of the Secretary of Defense, who in turn delegated it to the uniformed services (Army, Navy, Air Force).

Unfortunately, the uniformed services have utilized retrocession of exclusive federal jurisdiction over juvenile crimes on military installations only a handful of times (Fort Knox in 1999, Joint Base Lewis-McChord in 2001, Fort Stewart in 2015) despite clear indicators that the non-prosecution of juvenile-on-juvenile sexual assaults is a loathsome trend across the force.

The site is the personal work of U.S. Army JAG Corps Major George R. ("Rob") Lavine III, and includes the usual disclaimer. Maj. Lavine's 2018 Wyoming Law Review article on the subject can be found here.