DAY TWO OF BRADLEY MANNING'S HEARING, MARCH 16, 2012

DAY TWO OF BRADLEY MANNING’S HEARING, MARCH 16, 2012

 

There was a Vigil outside Ft. Meade for the second day of Bradley’s motion hearing.  The Military judge denies another motion filed by Bradley’s attorney. After lengthy delay, motion hearing ends with no court martial date set. Next hearing is set for the dates April 24-26.

 

Though the second day of PFC Bradley Manning’s motion hearing at Fort Meade was scheduled for 10 AM, extensive private conferencing between the judge, Denise Lind; Manning’s defense, led by David Coombs; and the prosecution pushed the proceedings back to 1 PM. Meanwhile, supporters continued a vigil outside the front gate, holding signs for Bradley Manning.

 

When the hearing finally commenced, the judge explained that the private conference was devoted to reviewing and discussing an appropriate protective bill for classified information, which shields classified documents from the public in a closed session. Lind announced a protective bill had been “finalized” that “balances” the national security interests of the prosecution and the defense’s right to a fair trial.

 

Then the judge introduced the two major motions discussed yesterday, the defense’s motion to compel discovery and the defense’s motion to compel deposition. First, Lind said that the motion to compel discovery, or potential evidence, was still “under advisement” and that she will email a decision on it before the next session.

 

Lind proceeded to the motion to compel deposition – the defense’s protest of the improper denial of witnesses at the Article 32 pretrial hearing. This motion focused on Original Classification Authorities (OCAs), who would testify about the classification of material PFC Manning is accused of releasing, such as three Apache videos. These include Capt. Culkey, Adm. Kevin Donegan, Robert E. Bets, Robert E. Schmittle, Robert S. Harward, Patrick Kennedy, David Woods, and Robert Rolland.

 

The judge reviewed the defense’s various deposition requests (beginning in October 2011), the pretrial hearing Investigating Officer’s (IO) denial based on “availability,” and the defense’s subsequent appeals and repeated requests. The IO denied the potential witnesses saying they were “unavailable,” meaning the “delay, expense, and impact on the military” if they were to testify “outweighs” their relevance to the case. Part of the military’s definition for “available” means within 100 miles from the court – despite the fact that two of the civilian OCAs are at Fort Meade itself.

 

In her analysis, Judge Lind ruled against the defense, denying the motion to compel deposition. She argued the IO’s denial was not improper because she agrees their testimony does not “outweigh” the “delay, expense, and impact on the military.” Lind also contested Coombs’ argument that the government had impeded his access to the civilian OCAs, saying that an affidavit was still permissible.

 

Signaling that this ruling concluded Manning’s motion hearing, Lind scheduled the next court dates for April 24-26, explaining that today’s delays proved that three days were necessary for these hearings instead of two.  And less than half an hour since it’d begun, the court was dismissed.

This account of Bradley Manning’s motion hearing on March 15 and March 16, 2012, is based on Nathan Fuller’s courtroom notes, as no official transcript is publicly available. Please send questions or corrections to NathanLFuller(at)bradleymanning.org.

 

http://www.bradleymanning.org/news/notes-on-bradley-mannings-motion-hearing-day-one-31512.