Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Contempt at the Military Commissions: A Legal History

By: Professor David Glazier
This piece originally appeared on Lawfare

Does a military commission judge have the power to cite a senior U.S. military officer for contempt as if these tribunals were courts-martial or regular federal courts?

This question came to the fore last week when Guantanamo experienced its most bizarre detention to date. On Nov. 1, Col. Vance Spath held in contempt the military commissions’ chief defense counsel, Marine Corps Brig. Gen. John Baker in the trial of Abd al Rahim al Nashiri. (Al Nashiri is accused of planning the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole.) Although it might be widely assumed that the Guantanamo tribunals should enjoy similar core authority to that inherent in other U.S. courts—including the power to punish for contempt—the reality is that their authority is limited by their governing statute, the Military Commissions Act of 2009 (MCA).

Spath summarily convicted Baker for contempt of court for refusing to testify before the commission or revoke his unilateral excusal of three civilian counsel assigned to represent al Nashiri due to purported ethical conflicts. Spath imposed on Baker twenty-one days confinement and a $1,000 fine. Although Baker’s actions might be punishable by a judge in a regular civilian court, or even a court-martial conducted under the recently amended Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), they fall outside the scope of contempt as Congress defined it in the MCA.

Monday, November 6, 2017

2017 Tax Reform: We Hate Employees

By Professor Theodore Seto
This post originally appeared on Understanding Tax

Current tax law is moderately unfriendly to employees, more friendly to folks who can structure their businesses as sole proprietorship or partnerships. Sole proprietor expenses are deductible above-the-line, reduce adjusted gross income, and are deductible for AMT purposes. Employee expenses are only deductible below-the-line, are subject to the 2-percent floor and the overall limitation on itemized deductions, and are not deductible at all for AMT purposes.

Under the House Republican bill, things are about to get much worse.

Friday, November 3, 2017

Loyola Project for the Innocent Ushers in Rule on Prosecutorial Ethics

Loyola Project for the Innocent smooths way for passage of Rule 5-110 by the California Supreme Court. The rule, Special Responsibilities of a Prosecutor, defines their obligations to the defense.  "This will have a lasting imprint on the entire profession, and we played a leadership role in it," said Professor Laurie Levenson, LPI founder.

Read Rule 5-110 in full below.