United States v. Barrier

I agree with the majority disposition of this case. I write separately, however, to express my view that United States v. Grill, 48 M.J. 181 (C.A.A.F.1998), creates an irreconcilable tension between the scope of pre-sentencing unsworn statements and the military judge’s obligation to provide proper instructions. That tension is obvious in this case: what the currently defined right to allocution through a pre-sentencing unsworn statement under Grill permits, the military judge takes away in a Friedmann instruction.1

This tension finds its origin in United States v. Rosato, 32 M.J. 93…