Maybe They're Both Wrong

I have some sympathy for the judge in the BG Sinclair case. On the one hand, the general is clearly in the wrong to some degree, and has already plead guilty to some charges that would have resulted in serious punishment for an enlisted man or NCO. On the other hand, the command influence problem seems to be real -- real enough that the judge has dismissed the jury over it, and has to reconsider how to proceed.

The judge has decided not to dismiss the charges entirely, though that option existed.
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3 comments:

  1. MikeD10:09 AM

    I frequently found myself dealing with irate civilians who could not understand why the Army refused to characterize Nidal Hassan's attack on Ft. Hood as a terrorist attack. They just could not understand that doing so would actually give his lawyers an opening to get him off. I fully expect (and would actually demand) that once he has been found guilty that the Administration would retroactively grant full benefits to the victims and their families (to include Purple Hearts for the victims).

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  2. Anonymous10:35 AM

    Fish rots from the head.

    If there was unlawful command influence, it is because the President of the United States has made his position clear in advance and without the facts on several matters, including more than one criminal case. That observation does not excuse the unlawful command influence: it merely explains how it arose.

    Valerie

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  3. Cass8:05 AM

    I have been pondering several pieces on that trial too, Grim. I agree - I feel really sorry for the judge.

    There's a colossal joke in all of this. Liberals yammering on about insensitive brutes who look the other way when rape accusations read their ugly heads, and then when a case actually comes their way where the evidence is fairly strong, it may get thrown out because all these meddlers gave the defense grounds to claim unlawful command influence.

    The said thing is that several articles I've read state the prosecutor had tactical doubts about winning the case but actually believed the accusations (including the sexual assault ones). But due process has to matter, even here.

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