An Overview of the Capital Jury Project for Military Justice Practitioners: Aggravation, Mitigation, and Admission Defenses
The Army Lawyer, July 2011, No. 7, DA PAM 27-50-458
Florida International University Legal Studies Research Paper No. 13-29
12 Pages Posted: 27 Sep 2013
Date Written: July 1, 2011
Abstract
This article takes the findings from the Capital Jury Project (CJP) and applies them to military court-martial practice, taking note of military specific rules and case law that gain new meaning when placed in a CJP-informed context. This article covers themes in aggravation and mitigation and discusses the underlying juror beliefs that drive those themes. Throughout, the article explores how counsel on both sides of a capital court-martial can use these findings to improve their trial practice but pays special attention to how admission defenses address these themes.
Keywords: Capital Jury Project (CJP), aggravation, mitigation, juror belief systems, Military Justice, defenses, non-capital practice, reduced culpability, lack of remorse, loathing, fear
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