National Institute of Military Justice
  • Home
  • About
    • Officers
    • Board of Directors
    • Fellows
    • Staff
  • CAAFlog
  • Global Reform
  • Library
    • Amicus Briefs
    • Position Papers & Letters
    • Reports
    • Gazette
    • Miscellaneous
    • General Military Law
  • Links
    • State Codes
    • Non-DoD Organizations
    • Foreign Systems
  • Prizes
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • About
    • Officers
    • Board of Directors
    • Fellows
    • Staff
  • CAAFlog
  • Global Reform
  • Library
    • Amicus Briefs
    • Position Papers & Letters
    • Reports
    • Gazette
    • Miscellaneous
    • General Military Law
  • Links
    • State Codes
    • Non-DoD Organizations
    • Foreign Systems
  • Prizes
  • Contact Us

CAAFlog

Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals

7/18/2022

0 Comments

 
In United States v. Novelli, the appellant pled guilty to various drug related offenses: cocaine, marijuana, psilocybin, Valium, Xanax, and steroids. He was sentenced to 600 days plus a BCD for which he got 236 days Allen credit. He raised four issues.

1. Error in the EoJ--corrected in the court's decretal paragraph.
2. Unreasonable multiplication.
3. Improper TC sentencing argument. (A common issue in AF cases as to both findings and sentence.)
4. Inappropriate sentence.

​The decretal paragraph remands the case for corrections of the EoJ.
In United States v. Monge, the appellant returns after correction of post-trial errors. Appellant had pled guilty to recording and distributing an indecent visual recording and use and possession of steroids. "Enlisted" members also convicted him of sexual assault and A&B. The panel sentenced him to 60 days HLWC and a DD.

The court now takes up legal and factual sufficiency for the sexual assault and A&B, and the Ramos issue (raised under Grosty). The analysis begins,
As the incidents that give rise to the criminal allegations occurred as one course of conduct, we will address the sexual assault and assault consummated by a battery specifications together. Notably, Appellant does not allege a lack of evidence for purposes of the sufficiency of the evidence. Instead, he argues that the named victim, RT, cannot be believed, going so far as referring to some of her testimony as a “blatant lie.” Appellant challenges RT’s credibility and argues that the version of events described by RT was physically improbable. And because her testimony cannot be trusted, Appellant continues, the sexual assault and assault consummated by a battery specifications fail a sufficiency review. As outlined below, we disagree. 
Essentially, the appellant was arguing to AFCCA that the victim should not be believed--a credibilty argument at the CCA. The court deconstructs each of the appellant's arguments paragraph by paragraph. And in addition, finds the mistake defense unreasonable on the facts. Reading the facts compared to the sentence, one wonders if the panel had some residual doubts.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Disclaimer: Posts are the authors' personal views and do not reflect the position of any organization or government agency.
    Picture
    Co-editors:
    Phil Cave
    Brenner Fissell
    Links
    ​

    UCMJ
    CAAF
    -Daily Journal
    -Current Term Opinions
    ACCA
    AFCCA
    CGCCA
    NMCCA
    Joint R. App. Pro.
    Global Reform
    Army Lawyer
    JAG Reporter

    CAAFlog 1.0
    CAAFlog 2.0

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022

    Categories

    All
    ByTheNumbers
    Case2Watch
    CrimLaw
    Evidence
    Fed. Cts.
    Habeas Cases
    IHL/LOAC
    Legislation
    MilJust Transparency
    NewsOWeird
    Opinions ACCA
    Opinions-ACCA
    Opinions AFCCA
    Opinions CAAF
    Opinions CGCCA
    Opinions NMCCA
    Sentenciing
    Sex Off. Reg.
    Sexual Assault
    Supreme Court
    Unanimous Verdicts

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly