June 26th, 2011 by Brian F. George
The Supreme Court considered on Thursday whether it will grant certiorari in a medical malpractice case filed by Alexis Witt, the widow of active-duty Air Force Staff Sergeant Dean Patrick Witt who died following medical treatment at Travis Air Force Base, California. The District Court dismissed the suit and the 9th Circuit affirmed. Under a 1950 precedent, Feres vs. U.S., the Supreme Court held that such claims by active-duty military members may only be brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), “where the injuries arise out of or are in the course of activity incident to service.” Courts have interpreted this language to include, among other things, medical malpractice claims. There have been multiple, unsuccessful attempts over the years to overturn Feres. The Supreme Court’s decision is expected on Monday. For more details, see the Kansas City Star story here.
UPDATE: June 27, 2011
It appears that the Supreme Court denied Cert by Order issued this morning.
June 24th, 2011 by Brian F. George
This is an interesting story about the Army CCA reviewing the case of a former Army translator in Iraq who was court-martialed for an incident in which he stabbed another translator. The accused translator was a civilian contractor and was prosecuted based on a 2006 amendment to the UCMJ allowing for jurisdiction to be asserted over certain civilians accompanying the military. The Army judges reviewing the case raised questions about how far this jurisdiction can extend.
June 24th, 2011 by Brian F. George
The pentagon has appointed a one-star general as the lead prosecutor for the military commissions at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Army Brigadier General Mark Martins is currently the Rule of Law Field Force Commander in Afghanistan. He will take over the prosecutor’s office in October, and his duties will include leading the prosecution of high-profile cases arising from the 9/11 attacks and the attack on the USS Cole. More here.
May 25th, 2010 by Brian F. George
Congress has moved a step closer to repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the policy which prevents openly gay military members from serving and which provides a basis for discharge of members who violate the policy. The Washington Post, among numerous other news outlets, is reporting that President Obama has endorsed a compromise between lawmakers and DoD to make the repeal happen. The compromise apparently entails a vote, within the next few days, on an amendment to repeal the ban. The effective date of any repeal would not be until after DoD completes a study on how the repeal would affect troops. The results of that study are due to Congress on December 1.
