End of oral argument season

Yesterday marked the end of oral argument season. The season ended with a particularly interesting argument in United States v. Bartlett, No. 07-0636/AR, where CAAF considered, to quote the public notice of hearing, "whether the Secretary of the Army's decision to exempt from court-martial service officers of the special branches named in AR 27-10 (Medical Corps, Medical Specialist Corps, Dental Corps, Chaplain Corps, Nurse Corps, Veterinary Corps, and those detailed to Inspector General duties) contradicts Article 25(d) (2), UCMJ, which requires a convening authority to select court-martial members based upon age, education, training, experience, length of service, and judicial temperament." I know it's risky to predict an outcome based on the oral argument, but CAAF certainly seemed inclined to hold that the restriction was impermissible. The more difficult issue in the case may be determining a remedy and how far that remedy should reach. The argument's audio is available here and is well worth the 45 minutes it takes to listen to it.

To mark the end of oral argument season, the Federal Bar Association's Pentagon Chapter and CAAF are hosting a reception at CAAF next Wednesday, 14 May, at 1500. Unfortunately, I'll be out of town on reserve duty, so I won't be able to make it. If you have any questions about the event, the POC is MAJ Will Fischbach at Army DAD.