Journal of Law, Policy & Military Affairs

JLPMA Issue 1, Article 5
ARTICLE: "Due Process and Surviving America's Kill List: How the Courts and Congress can end the Executive Branch's Encroachment on Civil Liberties in the War on Terror"
AUTHOR: Rising USC Gould School of Law 3L Pj Novack

http://bit.ly/2J8CpcT

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JLPMA Issue 1, Article 4
ARTICLE: "Effective Influence: Amending the Leahy Laws to Incentivize U.S. Army Special Forces Units to Correct Gross Violations of Human Rights"
AUTHOR: Peter Bauleke, Captain in the U.S. Army and alumni of Vanderbilt University Law School and the U.S. Military Academy.

http://bit.ly/2KArnk7

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JLPMA Issue 1, Article 3 - "Four Wrongs Don't Make A Right: Framing, Ratifying, and Historical Evidence Show Congressional Abdication Under the War Powers Resolution to be Unconstitutional" by Dane L. Stuhlsatz, a Constitutional Law Fellow at the Institute for Justice.

http://bit.ly/2ZJzoqk

JLPMA Issue 1, Article 2 - "Habeas Corpus Review of Military Convictions in the Federal Judiciary: An Enduring Need to Protect Constitutional Liberties" by John N. Maher & David Bolgiano

ABSTRACT: This article examines the current state of procedure, practice, and the law concerning federal habeas corpus petitions for military convictions. As the Iraq and Afghanistan wars near their third decade, the number of military personnel convicted of crimes in combat has increased due in large measure to operations within civilian populations. Although many of these convicted servicemembers have exhausted their direct military appeals, some are nonetheless hesitant to bring federal habeas corpus challenges, as they presume their case has been “fully and fairly considered,” and accordingly, a federal civilian court will defer to the military and not review the merits of a military petitioner’s claims. In some cases, this is the right answer. But, the Constitution and Supreme Court have made it clear that where a military prisoner’s trial or appeal was neither “fully nor fairly” reviewed—especially in the context of criminal due process and effective assistance of counsel—the federal judiciary is empowered under existing law to review the merits of a military petitioner’s claims and order habeas corpus relief. By examining a current case before the federal courts concerning an Army infantry officer who was convicted of murdering two Afghans and attempting to murder a third while on a patrol in a combat zone, this article provides specific examples of language and points of law for a military appellant to bring a potentially successful habeas petition.

http://bit.ly/31Rl4Or

JLPMA Issue 1, Article 1 - "The Feres Doctrine and Accountability" by CEO and Founder of the Center for Law and Military Policy, Dwight Stirling.

ABSTRACT: The Feres doctrine insulates service members from civil liability for the harm they inflict upon other service members. Under the doctrine, lawsuits alleging “intramilitary” misconduct are prohibited, including suits stemming from retaliation, wrongful termination, and racial discrimination. While the doctrine’s impact upon injured service members has been explored, this article is the first to examine its impact upon military managers—the non-combat, administrative personnel who oversee the armed forces’ sprawling bureaucracy. Utilizing insights from social psychology, the literature on public accountability, and the author’s extensive JAG career, the article reveals how the absence of liability has the potential to dramatically affect military managers’ behavior. It turns out the policy destabilizes accountability within the managerial ranks in the precise way the Founders sought to avoid. By stymieing the ability of the judicial branch to check the conduct of senior executive branch personnel, the Feres doctrine promotes abuse of power and creates the ideal conditions for corruption.

http://bit.ly/2XtDm8V

After a long Facebook hiatus, we are proud to announce that our first five-article issue is now complete!! We will be posting these articles, along with "SparkNotes" versions of each, during the next few weeks.

We are also currently in the process of finishing our second issue. If you have an article you would like to submit for publication consideration, please send a Microsoft word version of the article and your resume/CV to [email protected]

Center for Law and Military Policy

**ANOUNCEMENT**
After much consideration and thought, Antoinette Balta, the Veteran Legal Institute's (VLI) President and Co-Founder, and Major Stirling (VLI CEO and Co-Founder) have decided to split the VLI’s operations into two: (1) public interest law firm and (2) think tank. The primary reason for this division is because the think tank, Major Stirling's main passion, has grown and developed to the point of taking up most of his time. While Major Stirling managed both divisions of the VLI, his focus gradually shifted to the think tank’s activities to the point where he felt he was shortchanging the legal services division. So Major Stirling and Ms. Balta have decided to spin the think tank off from VLI and let it become its own, freestanding nonprofit organization. The VLI will continue on as a legal aid organization, no longer having a policy and research component.

Accordingly, Major Stirling will be leaving to become the CEO of the new entity, named the "Center for Law and Military Policy" (CLMP). Dallis Warshaw (Managing Editor of the Journal of Law, Policy & Military Affairs ("JLPMA")) and all the other policy analysts will transition with Major Stirling from the VLI to CLMP. Major Stirling's departure from the VLI will be effective on Aug. 31, as he needs time to transition his duties and knowledge to other VLI personnel. All of the VLI think tank IP will transfer to the CLMP, including the JLPMA, VLI On Point (to be renamed "CLMP On Point"), and the A World Apart podcast - Ms. Warshaw's series about the civil-military gap.

The development of the CLMP is very exciting - a chance for the think tank to go the next level. The clean break between the two entities will allow each division to focus on its own specific objectives without tension or a nagging push/pull. What is most exciting about this new opportunity is the autonomy the separation will give the think tank - an unfettered ability to chart its own course.

We hope you are all as excited as we are! Please let us know if you have any questions.

The JLPMA is finalizing its inaugural Editorial Board. If you are interested in helping serve this noble cause, please email your resume and statement of interest to Editor-in-Chief Grant Frazier at: [email protected]. While the journal is legal in nature, the current members of the Editorial Board come from all different background - JD students; practicing attorneys; law professors; Masters students in security studies, international diplomacy, fine writing, and social work; as well as professional writers in the military space. We are also proud to say that over 1/2 of our current staff are veterans or current service members!

The Journal of Law, Policy & Military Affairs is happy to announce its first published manuscript, written by the Veterans Legal Institute's CEO and co-Founder Dwight Stirling - "The Feres Doctrine and Accountability"

Link: https://jlpma.org/issues

Short summary:
In 1950, the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed Feres v. United States, a collection of three cases, all of which sought to hold the military accountable for acts of negligence under the Federal Tort Claims Act. While the plaintiffs were service members, the circumstances giving rise to their claims—a building fire caused by a defective heater, and two instances of botched surgical procedures—bore no relationship to actual military duties, and were effectively interchangeable with those yielding recovery for countless civilians. As such, they stood in stark contrast to the claims expressly barred by the Act: those “arising out of the combatant activities of the military…during time of war.”

Despite these clearly circumscribed statutory terms, the Feres Court translated the Act far more broadly, to bar all injuries that “arise out of or are in the course of activity incident to service.” As strained and improbable as this analysis may be, its true danger has rested less in its immediate application to tort cases than in the foundation it has laid for a widely-metastasizing theory of intra-military immunity from any civil claim at all.

The article explores these issues and more.

Welcome to Journal of Law, Policy & Military Affairs

“A nation is judged by how well it treats its veterans.” - George Washington

Published by the Veterans Legal Institute, the JLPMA is an online-only law journal that addresses the legal and policy issues facing service members and veterans. The only independent legal-focused academic platform for military-related scholarship, the JLPMA's objective, unbiased articles are grounded in reflection, thoughtfulness, and reform.