United States v. Smith

ERDMANN, Judge, with whom EFFRON, Chief Judge,

joins (concurring in part and dissenting in part):

While I concur with the majority opinion as to the jurisdictional issue raised by the Government, I respectfully dissent from the majority’s conclusion as to the granted issue. In a case where credibility of the complainant was fundamental, the military judge prevented the defense from presenting to the panel an explanation of the circumstances that would have provided a motive for the complainant to make a false allegation of rape.

Background

Cadet Webster Smith was initially charged with twenty-two…