Hot Topics!

Current Legislative Issues:

The 2008 National Defense Authorization Act.  3-Star TJAG legislation advances.  Click here to see the relevant portion of the FY 2008 NDAA Conference Report.

The "Equal Justice for Our Military" Act:   HR 1364 is currently pending in the House of Representatives.  This bill would amend 28 U.S.C. §1259 to permit the U.S. Supreme Court to review, by writ of certiorari, cases where the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces has denied an extraordinary writ, or writ appeal.  To review the text of the bill, visit the Library of Congress' legislative information site and search on "HR 1364."  To review a report on this legislation from the Congressional Research Service, click here.

Association Activities:

Letter to the Editor of Air Force Times by JAA President.

JAA President testifies before Congressional panel studying the relationship between Military Department General Counsels and Judge Advocates General.  For a summary of the testimony, click here.  For the final panel report, click here.

Job Announcements:  (Also see the links on the "Jobs for JAGs" page)

Rule of Law Advisors.  The State Department is looking for advisors to serve on personal services contracts in Iraq.  They need "Justice Integration Policy Advisors"; "Advisors for Information Technology."; and "Criminal Law Advisors."

Articles/Items of Interest:

"DoD Ends Effort to Politicize Judge Advocate Promotions"  Air Force Times article by Rick Maze, December 31, 2007 (with quotes from Past JAA President Ed Rodriguez).

"Lawyers With Too Much Integrity"  A Boston Globe Editorial dated December 20, 2007.

"Military Lawyers Stay Unbridled; White House Drops Veto Bid on Promotions"  Boston Globe Article by Charlie Savage, December 19, 2007 (with quotes from Past JAA President Ed Rodriguez).

"Congress Should Champion the Advice of Military Lawyers"  An Op-Ed piece from the "Jurist, Legal News and Research."  

"Accountable to the Code:  Must the United States comply with the Geneva Conventions in fighting the global war on terrorism?"  Featuring discussions from Brig Gen Thomas Hemingway, USAF, and RADM John D. Hutson, JAGC, USN (Ret.); from the current edition of "Military Officer®"

"The Real JAG"  Examines the real-life experiences of several current Judge Advocates; from the March 2005 edition of "Military Officer®"