Law School Case Briefs

Citation
Case Name

Start by searching for a case name or citation above.

Discover a Random Brief

United States v. Baldwin

Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (2001) | 54 M.J. 308; 2001 CAAF LEXIS 38; 2001 WL 38118

3 min read

TL;DR: An officer alleged court-martial members were improperly influenced by a commander's mandatory meetings discussing lenient sentences. The court found her sworn statement sufficient to raise the issue of unlawful command influence and ordered a fact-finding hearing to investigate the claim.

Legal Significance: This case establishes the low evidentiary threshold for an accused to raise a post-trial claim of unlawful command influence. A detailed, personal affidavit stating sufficient facts is enough to compel a hearing, even without contemporaneous objection or corroborating evidence.