Word: silliman
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...part of the UCMJ's attempt to screen the process from undue influence. "The military is a hierarchical society," Silliman says, and so the rules of the UCMJ seek to protect the proceedings from any presumed or perceived command influence - including that of the President, who is at the very top of the chain of command. Once a suspect has been informed that he or she is under investigation, the 120-day clock starts ticking toward the trial. (The 120-day schedule may be extended any time the defense is granted a delay.) (See pictures of the Fort Hood memorial...
...Hasan's attorney, James P. Galligan, a retired Fort Hood military judge, has said he has instructed his client not to talk to investigators. Meanwhile, Silliman says, investigators are likely assembling evidence from a multitude of other sources to draw up a list of charges, which could include anything from capital murder to taking a gun to the base. Hasan also may face a noncapital charge of murdering an unborn child because one of the victims, Francheska Velez, was three months pregnant. Both sides will probably want to have Hasan undergo psychiatric evaluation, with the defense perhaps having...
...communications, opting for a military trial avoids the legal mire of treason or terrorism charges. Military prosecutors will have a Dragnet view of the case - "just the facts" as Jack Webb, star of the television cop classic was fond of saying. Why he did it is not essential, Silliman says, although the defense may seek to cloud the picture with digressions into motivation. Prosecutors will focus on what the accused intended to do and how he allegedly did it: when he bought the gun, what he said to neighbors and how he acted on the morning of the crime...
...that hearing, specific charges will be issued and recommended to an officer with the rank of general in Hasan's direct chain of command. That commanding general will decide on what charges will be made and where the trial will take place. All charges must be brought at once, Silliman says, unlike in the civilian system where prosecutors can pick and choose...
Lessons have been learned since the Calley case, Silliman says, not the least of which is the danger of political intrusion and command influence. While members of Congress may enter the hot debate, President Barack Obama as Commander in Chief must be wary not to exert "unlawful command influence" in his pronouncements on the case, Silliman says, just as President George W. Bush and Administration officials in the chain of command were cautious in the Abu Ghraib cases. So far, Obama has not stepped over the line, Silliman says, by specifically naming Hasan. This is as close as the President...