LAW FROM THE CENTER

Re: the upcoming hearing in the Air Force fratricide court martial I told you about here, here, and here, today word comes from the AP via KTBS 3 TV, Shreveport, LA, that the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals has granted an indefinite stay on the preliminary hearing. No word yet on why the stay was granted, or if there will be a preliminary hearing before the April 5 scheduled trial date. Stay tuned...

UPDATE #1: Upon further research, I found the grounds for the Appeals Court stay. According to the Toronto Star, the defense team of Maj. Schmidt requested a delay because the government refused to hand over classified data to them. They are seeking evidence from the Air Force AWAC Airborne Radar system which tracked the friendly fire incident from miles away. They are hoping that they might find something exculpatory on the radar system. Apparently, the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals bought their argument for now. NOTE: under the Rules for Court Martial, an accused or the government may request an interlocutory appeal for certain assigned errors of procedure. I will try to get a copy of the order.