Military Judge Halts General's Sexual-Assault Trial

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

Associated Press
March 11, 2014 6:15 p.m. ET

A military judge on Tuesday dismissed the jury in an Army general's court-martial on sexual-assault charges to give prosecutors and defense lawyers time to hammer out a plea deal in the closely watched case.

Judge Col. James Pohl made the unusual move after new evidence indicated political concerns may have improperly influenced military officials' rejection of a previous plea offer by Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair.

"There are other issues that have come up in this trial," Col. Pohl told the jury of five two-star generals who assembled at Fort Bragg, N.C., last week to decide the case.

Col. Pohl reviewed newly disclosed emails in Brig. Gen. Sinclair's case Monday and said he found the appearance of "unlawful command influence" in officials' decision to reject a plea bargain with the general in January.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304020104579433554265773342?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304020104579433554265773342.html

[DRoseDARs]

1. "I'll plead 'Guilty' to being a sex offender so long as I'm not labelled a sex offender."

eom

[olddad56]

2. and if everyone agrees to forget this ever happened.

[Kingofalldems]

3. He'll get to keep his retirement benefits.

[olddad56]

4. would we? He should be treated like any other criminal.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

5. What the story says is that evidence that a senior general

May have told the military prosecutors to reject a plea deal. Under the UCMJ, this is improper at best and illegal at worst. So the judge is saying, "Revisit the plea bargain, and do it properly this time."