This will be a bit out of order, but here are a couple of the July decisions of the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals.
Name: United States v. Pedro R. Venegas, ACM 36913 Decided: 31 July 2008 UCMJ Articles: 112a Sentence: 4 months of confinement, Bad-Conduct Discharge (BCD), reduction to E-1 Issue(s): voluntariness of a confession; sufficiency of evidence Status: Unpublished
Summary:
Pursuant to a guilty plea, A1C Venegas was convicted of possession and distribution of methamphetamine. On appeal, he argued pro se, via United States v. Grostefon, 12 M.J. 431 (C.M.A. 1982), that: (1) his confession was involuntary; and (2) the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for possession of meth.
The Court, using a totality of the circumstances test, held that his confession was voluntary because: (1) he was of average intelligence; (2) he did not suffer from a mental disability; (3) he was properly advised of his rights; (4) he understood his rights; (5) the interrogation was not lengthy; and (6) the interrogators did not make physical contact with him or threaten him.
The Court then held that the evidence was sufficient to support A1C Venegas's conviction. The Court noted that it had to construe all evidence in a light most favorable to the Government. The Court stated that the test was, after construing the evidence in a light most favorable to the Government, it was convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that A1C Venegas was guilty.
Name: United States v. Christopher M. Key, ACM S31341 Decided: 31 July 2008 UCMJ Articles: 134 Sentence: 12 months of confinement, BCD, reduction to E-1 Issue(s): severity of sentence, appellate power Status: Unpublished
Summary:
Pursuant to a guilty plea, Amn Key was convicted of possession of child pornography and sentenced to, inter alia, a BCD. On appeal, he argued that the punitive discharge was inappropriately severe. The Court first cited Article 66(c) of the UCMJ and relevant case law for the proposition that it had the power to "lessen the rigor of a sentence," if justice required. The Court rejected Amn Key's appeal and held that the sentence was not inappropriately severe because: (1) he "perpetuate[d] a market that wrecks havoc on the lives of the youngest and most vulnerable members of our society"; and (2) the conduct was "a clear departure from the norms of society and expected standards of conduct in the military."
In an effort to focus this blog a bit and to keep up on current military law, I've decided to add case thumbnails. In that vein, below is a summary of August 2008 opinions of the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals:
Name: United States v. Johnny Francisco, ACM 36773 Decided: 04 August 2008 UCMJ Articles: 87, 92, 107, 134 Sentence: 9 months' confinement, Dishonorable Discharge (DD), reduction to E-1 Issue(s): pretrial agreement (PTA) provisions; guilty plea providency; deferment of automatic forfeitures; Speedy Trial: appellate process Status: Unpublished
Summary:
Pursuant to a PTA, SSgt Francisco pled guilty to numerous charges arising out of his failure adequately to prepare for a deployment. On appeal, he asserted five issues, namely that: (1) a provision in his PTA requiring him to release mental health records violated public policy; (2) his plea to negligently failing to prepare for deployment was improvident; (3) the Article 134 charge for making statements that he would threaten to hurt or kill himself to avoid deploying was unconstitutional; (4) his plea to the same charge was improvident because he did not establish that his actions were prejudicial to good order and discipline; and (5) post-trial, the convening authority received delayed and/or incorrect advice on his request to defer forfeitures/reduction in grade to his prejudice. The Court, apparently sua sponte, raised a sixth issue: that the delay in appellate review violated SSgt Francisco's Speedy Trail rights.
SSgt Francisco's PTA required that he sign a release of mental health records once the military judge (MJ) accepted his guilty plea. The Court first found that he entered into the PTA freely and voluntarily. The Court, while expressing doubts as to the utility of such a provision, held that the provision did not violate public policy.
SSgt Francisco next argued that his plea to the charge of negligently failing to prepare for deployment was improvident because he did, in fact, complete his deployment processing. Nevertheless, the Court held that his plea was provident because it was only through extraordinary measures by his unit and other base agencies that he completed his deployment processing by the prescribed date.
SSgt Francisco next argued that his plea to the Article 134 charge of making statements that he would not deploy and would say that he was going to hurt or kill himself to avoid deploying was improvident and/or unconstitutional. The Court first held that SSgt Francisco waived his right to challenge the charge (at least on the grounds on which he challenged it) by freely and voluntarily entering into a PTA waiving "all waivable motions." The Court then held that his plea was provident (in that he established th element of prejudicial to good order and discipline) because, inter alia, he was a noncommissioned officer (NCO) and made his claims to junior members.
SSgt Francisco next argued that the convening authority received incorrect or late advice on his request to defer automatic forfeitures/reduction in grade. Although the Court found an error in the convening authority's action and mandated correction, the Court upheld the the decision on automatic forfeitures.
Finally, the Court sua sponte raised a Speedy Trial issue with regard to appellate processing. The Court found that the 24 month delay between the time that it received the record of trial (ROT) and the decision was facially unreasonable. Nevertheless, the Court held that the delay was harmless.
Name: United States v. Chad Candiff, ACM S31319 Decided: 04 August 2008 UCMJ Articles: 112a Sentence: 2 months' confinement, Bad Conduct Discharge (BCD), reduction to E-1 Issue(s): Staff Judge Advocate Recommendation (SJAR) Status: Unpublished
Summary:
SrA Candiff asked that his sentence be reduced by 30 days because there was no addendum to the SJAR and no way to know that his clemency request was received by the convening authority. In response to SrA Candiff's brief the Government submitted an affidavit from the convening authority's staff judge advocate (SJA) with the SJAR addendum as an attachment. The Court held that this was sufficient evidence that SrA Candiff's clemency matters were received and reviewed by the convening authority.
Here's a very good tip that may seem obvious to some, but not to others. There are 2 BIG indications that an Italian restaurant is touristy, of poor quality, and overpriced:
1. The waiters are pimping for business outside the restaurant -- you'll find this a lot in Venice.
2. There's a sign outside like the one below. The food looks nasty in the pictures anyway. This is a picture from Milan. Best to avoid these places and look for a place where there seems to be an Italian crowd.
My wife and I just returned home from a North Sea cruise. We had a wonderful time and memories we will not soon forget. We saw Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Oslo. It was very expensive!
I should start out by saying that the trip began rather poorly. I bought plane tickets to Amsterdam that were scheduled to leave on Friday at 9:30 a.m. I mistakenly believed that I had purchased tickets for 9:30 p.m. When we got to the airport at 7:30 p.m., our plane had left (obviously) and there we no more flights to Amsterdam. So we had to buy two one-way tickets for the following day. We made it, but it cost us. Apparently, I am very stupid.
Amsterdam was great. We stayed at a place called the Synopsis, which was a kind of guesthouse/hotel. Breakfast was not included, which was somewhat disappointing given the price of the place. But the room was beautiful and the location was perfect.
Overall, I would say that Amsterdam was our favorite place. More than anywhere I've been so far in Europe, the place was alive. In that sense, it was a lot like New York, but with a decidedly Euro-feel. It wasn't just pockets of activity either -- everywhere seemed busy. People were going every which way on bikes, scooters, trams, canal buses, cars, and on foot. People were drinking beer at tables set out on the canals. People were enjoying themselves in this beautiful city.
One of Amsterdam's many house boats, just outside the Synopsis Hotel:
Drinking beer on the canal:
Bicycles, bicycles, bicycles:
Statue of Rembrandt in his eponymous square:
We ducked into a place called the Corner House for a beer and discovered that it was a hotel and bar. The bartender gave us the prices and they were very reasonable. It was only 30 Euro for a single room and 50 Euro for a double room. We'll stay there if we go back. I think the prices change, but I think this place always will be reasonable. I found the website here.
Bicycle stoplight:
All the chairs at the cafes were pointed out -- apparently for people watching:A manual canal drawbridge:After a day and a half in Amsterdam, which was not enough time, we boarded Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas. The reviews were correct -- it was a terrific ship. First of all, it was huge! We had been on two cruises previously, but neither one was as nice as the Jewel of the Seas. We received an upgrade to an oceanview cabin, which was wonderful. Our itinerary took use from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Copenhagen, Denmark, and we disembarked in Oslo Norway. It was a cold cruise, but being on this ship made it a good one. One day, we even took a dip in the Solarium pool -- it has a retractable glass roof that was closed for this cruise. It was like a greenhouse. I also went in the hot tub outside once -- it was pretty awesome to be in a hot tub while afloat in the North Sea. Anyway, here are some pictures from the ship:
Me in our porthole:
Sailing out of the Netherlands. This was one of the many modern windmills that we saw in the Netherlands and Denmark:
Here's a video of that windmill:
View of the sea from Jewel's glass elevator:
We had to pass through a loch to get out to the North Sea from Amsterdam -- it was pretty interesting to watch:
Looking down on the main lobby:
The Solarium:
Hollie on the rock wall -- it was cold!
On the put-put course with the Copenhagen harbor in the background:
I celebrated my 31st birthday while we were in Copenhagen -- we ate dinner on the ship because of the prices in Copenhagen. We had a birthday lunch in Copenhagen.
On my 31st birthday, we landed in our first port: Copenhagen, Denmark. It was incredibly expensive. We took the bus to King's New Square and bought two cups of coffee. We then realized, after figuring out the exchange rate, that the coffees were $11. Whew! Copenhagen was a beautiful city. We first headed down to a "community" called Christiania (to read about this place, click here). It was wild. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed, so we don't have any to show. It was an old hippie community that was filled with art made from garbage -- found art. After that, we had an incredible birthday lunch at a restaurant called Ida Davidsen's, who is the queen of the Danish smørrebrød, or open-faced sanwiches.
We then went to the national museum and then to the Rundetarn, a bizarre 17th Century tower with a circular ramp leading to it's top platform. Finally, we walked around the city center for a while admiring its beauty. We also had a danish at a little cafe. Here are some pictures:
The Jewel of the Seas from the port:
An espresso cart attached to a bicycle:
There were a ton of 7-Elevens in both Copenhagen and Oslo -- but it was $5 for a small coffee:
Entrance to Christiania:
Sculpture in Christiania:
Marching Danish soldiers in King's New Square:
Video of New King's Square:
Pictures from lunch at Ida Davidsen's:
Danish Kroner -- we spent plenty of these:
Views from the Rundetarn:
The Danish queen's ship -- April 16th is her birthday. There's a big celebration in Copenhangen. Sadly, the ship sailed before the celebration began so we only heard it as we were leaving.
The modern Little Mermaid statue:
The old Little Mermaid statue witht he Queen's ship in the background:
The cruise ended in Oslo, Norway where we finally disembarked. Upon our arrival we purchased the Oslo card, which allowed us to ride the public transit and get into most of the museums. It was expensive, which we soon realized was the theme in Oslo. We knew it was one of the most expensive places on Earth, but we still had sticker shock at the prices. We didn't even go out to eat there -- we went to a grocery store, cooked our food, and packed our lunch. We stayed at a little place near the Frogner Plass stop on the No. 12 tram. It was a "private accommodation" and was a very small basement studio apartment. Here's the website. Given the price, it worked out, but I wouldn't recommend staying there if you like any kind of comfort. For example, it had very cheap Murphy bed. Nevertheless, a friend who lives in Oslo told us that we couldn't do better for the price. So it worked.
The first day was museum heavy. We took the ferry over to an area called Bygdoy and visited the Kon-Tiki museum, the Norwegian Maritime Museum, the Fram Museum, the Norwegian Folk Museum, and the Viking Ship Museum. We both liked the Kon-Tiki Museum and the Viking Ship Museum best. The nice thing about the museum is that they all are fairly small and manageable and you can visit all of them without getting overwhelmed by the material.
The next day, we went up into the Marka, a green belt surrounding the city. There we saw the Holmenkollen Ski Jump and hiked some of the trails. We had a packed lunch at the train station and ended our time in the Marka at the Frognersetern restaurant/cafe.
We had dinner with a friend who works in Oslo (at his house) and then walked to the center of town. I don't think we'll go back there soon, but it was an experience worth having. Maybe if we had a lot more money, we would have enjoyed ourselves a bit more. Here are the pictures:
