Posted on 05/22/2008 5:40:30 PM PDT by RedRover
Sgt Jermaine Nelson Defense Fund
Make checks payable to Law Firm of Joseph H. Low IV
Mail to:
Law Firm of Joseph H. Low IV
One World Trade Center, Suite 2320
Long Beach, CA 90831
Sgt Ryan Weemer Defense Fund
You can find information, and contribute online, at defendingahero.org.
Someone should grab US District Judge Percy Anderson by the nap of his neck, take his black robe off, and dump him at midnight in East LA......to give him just a slight taste of what our troops went through every day in the hellhole of Fallujah....POS!!!
Absolutely!! These people have absolutely no clue. SOB’s
There are no victims, physical evidence, or crime scene, evidence already revealed by the government shows.
Case dismissed!
Well, he got his wish.
If subpoenaed to give testimony in a trial then you don't have a choice. If you refuse then that's contempt and you go to jail for as long as the judge wants to keep you there. It makes no difference if it's a gangland thug or a Marine NCO.
No someone should grab our congress for passing such cr$p.Our government hates its people and are destroying the country.This should never be allowed to happen.
Filthy bastards.
If EVER there was a blurry screen, this is it.
“Nelson told them he’d rather go to jail than rat out a brother Marine.”
Plus, “than rat out” is an unfortunate phrasing, it makes it seem like the other Marine did something wrong in the first place to be “ratted out” in potential testimony.
Sgt. Nelson has nads, prayers for these Marines!
Well...sort of..he was subpeonead but then he was given transactional immunity while he testified in front of the Grand Jury, meaning he could no longer claim a 5th amendment right against self incrimination.
The no evidence thing is just...bizarre..if there is no reliable confession, then the case makes no sense to proceed with, if the “confession” contradicts itself, then their only hope of convicting the man is if the witness can fill in the blanks.
The real lovely point is, even no conviction results, they can then face UCMJ proceedings.
I wonder if the UCMJ proceedings would make the contempt citation moot as he only has immunity in Civilian Court, but still faces other Charges in front of a Court?
And it's a beautiful thing to read about. Semper Fidelis.
“If subpoenaed to give testimony in a trial then you don’t have a choice. If you refuse then that’s contempt and you go to jail for as long as the judge wants to keep you there. It makes no difference if it’s a gangland thug or a Marine NCO.”
Cant he plead the 5th?
Don't confuse the issues of the appropriateness of some of these prosecutions with this case, where a witness decided on his own that he wouldn't testify. It is a cornerstone of Anglo-American law that only very select persons - lawyers, priests, and spouses - can refuse to testify in a matter not jeopardizing oneself. The place to challenge the prosecution is at the Art. 32 stage or with trial advocacy - not by an activist witness choosing whether or not to testify.
Sorry. Just a stickler for the foundations of the rule of law. Our legal system isn't perfect, but flawed as it is, it beats the alternatives. So I get nervous when I see things that endanger it. Sgt. Nelson's loyalty is admirable (and his concerns regarding the prosecution of Sgt. Weemer entirely justified, but the rule of law cannot permit witnesses to refuse to testify out of loyalty. That cure would be worse than the disease.
Best way Sgt. Nelson could help Sgt. Weemer would be to talk with the defense to ensure they have every opportunity to hear their side of things. Remember - the jury (if it even gets to that point) will all be military members, almost certainly all with combat experience. The officers and NCO's sitting on that panel will be very interested to hear Sgt. Nelson's understanding of events. There's a pretty good chance that what he found reasonable under those circumstances they will too.
maybe its just that my litigation strategy is colored by my view that military panels, especially, are relatively sophisticated, but if I were Sgt. Weemer's counsel, I'd jump for joy if the prosecution's sole case rested on the testimony of a Sergeant sympathetic to my client. Fighting the subpoena is unwise IMHO.
I can't believe I just typed all that on a cell phone.
Agreed. I’m not sure if others here think a general court-martial would have more patience for Nelson, but I can certainly promise that’s not the case.
Marine Corps bump.
You can plead the Fifth ONLY if your testimony might incriminate YOURSELF. There are only a few types of witnesses that can refuse to testify against their clients - lawyers, priests, doctors, spouses, and journalists (in some jurisdictions and ill-advisedly IMHO). There is not nor should there ever be a privilege because “it might get my friend in trouble. “
Marine Corps Reinvigorating its Battlefield Ethics Training
Commandant Conway was concerned because too many Marines said in a survey that they wouldn't rat out another Marine so he issued a bunch of edicts. Puller and Patton are spinning in their graves.
He should have testified and given Hillary Clinton answers such as: I don’t recall, I can’t remember, My recollection on that is fuzzy etc....
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