Saturday, August 11, 2007

"Above all . . ." Don't Forget Grostefon

I got a good 2 minutes or so of entertainment from a recent Air Force Times' article on post-trial options. The following was the most memorable portion of the article (available here):

If you do not take the appeal to the criminal court seriously, you might miss opportunities to improve your record. You should be in contact with your appellate attorney and explain to them your side of the case. In this way, they understand your record of trial a little more than simply reading the words on the page.

Above all, you should think hard about your Grostefon submission. The case of U.S. v. Grostefon, 12 M.J. 431 (C.M.A. 1982), essentially stands for the fact that you, as the appellant, can have the Court of Criminal Appeals consider any matter you would like it to consider. This is a personal statement from you to the Court where you set out what mistakes you believe were made in your trial. This may include matters on which you and your attorney disagree.

(emphasis added). I don't think I have ever seen Grostefon placed "above all" in any context. I guess it is good to see differing views every now and then. I clicked on the link to the article's comment (singular). I believe the commenter viewed the article about the same as me, "'Military justice is to justice what military music is to music' -George Clemenceau."

3 comments:

John O'Connor said...

I'm with No Man. Cue the principal from Billy Madison:

"Mr. Madison, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."

Anonymous said...

I just wish practitioners of the appellate arts within the miltiary justice community would acutally read US v. Grostefon.

Anonymous said...

Anon,
What point do you hope they take from it?