Military Court-Martial Lawyers
  • Court-Martial Lawyers
    • The Court-Martial Process >
      • General Court-Martial
      • Impeachment Techniques
      • Special Court-Martial
      • Right to Counsel
      • Military Jury Selection
      • Right to a Speedy Trial
      • Your Rights >
        • The Military Rules of Evidence >
          • MRE 311 - Searches and Seizures
          • MRE 412 - Victim's Prior Behavior
          • MRE 413 - Accused's Prior Behavior
          • MRE 613 - Prior Inconsistent Statements
          • MRE 801 - Hearsay
          • MRE 803 - Common Hearsay Exceptions
          • MRE 807 - Residual Hearsay
        • Military Motions Practice >
          • Affirmative Defenses
          • Failure to State an Offense
          • Motion to Suppress Involuntary Statements >
            • Article 31 UCMJ
          • Motion to Suppress - No Rights Advisement
          • Unlawful Command Influence
          • Motion to Change the Location of Trial
          • Unreasonable Multiplication of Charges
        • Court-Martial Consequences
        • Sex Offender Registration
        • Military Protective Orders
        • Family Advocacy Program
      • Right to Experts
      • Release from Pretrial Confinement
    • Military Sexual Assault Lawyer >
      • Substantial Incapacitation >
        • Blackouts
    • Failed Urinalysis >
      • Innocent Ingestion
      • Drug Detection Windows >
        • Cocaine Factsheet
        • Marijuana Factsheet
        • Diazepam Factsheet
        • Morphine and Heroin Factsheet
        • Methadone Factsheet
        • Methamphetamine Factsheet
      • Command Urinalysis Program
      • Performance Enhancing Drugs
    • Article 80 Attempts
    • Article 81 Conspiracy
    • Article 118 Murder
    • Article 128 Assault >
      • Maltreatment
      • Theft and Larceny Cases >
        • Article 132 Frauds Against the United States
      • Parental Discipline Cases
    • AWOL and Desertion >
      • Article 85 Desertion
    • Article 133 Conduct Unbecoming
    • Disrespect Offenses >
      • Failure to Obey an Order
    • Article 107 False Official Statements >
      • Obstruction of Justice
    • Pornography Cases
  • Court-Martial Appeals
    • Petitions for a New Trial
    • Legal and Factual Insufficiency of the Evidence
    • Summary Court-Martial
    • Multiplicity in the Military
    • Sentencing Severity
  • Security Clearances
  • Medical Cases
    • Health Care Providers
    • Post Traumatic Stress
  • Military Law Blog
  • Notable Cases
    • My Lai
    • Abu Ghraib
    • Haditha
    • Maywand District Murders
    • US v Scott
    • MARSOC
  • Military Case Results
  • Attorneys
    • Gary Myers
    • Daniel Conway
    • Brian Pristera
    • Lauren Johnson-Naumann
    • Joseph Galli
  • Military Law Videos
  • Free Initial Consultation
  • Military Law Search

The Brief 

​News, insights, and information on all things related to military criminal defense.

False Allegations and Deception in the Law - Part I

2/1/2017

 
I was recently at Fort Carson, Colorado.  I came across a flyer from the Department of Justice titled "False Allegations of Adult Crimes Reference Guide."  The flyer has prompted me to write about false allegations and deception.  This Part I will provide the data from the Department of Justice.  The data apparently came from the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit and National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime.

The primary motivations and indicators section below provides a great resource for closing arguments in military court-martials. 

The Department of Justice flyer on false allegations provided the following data on false allegations:

"Offender Characteristics
-Most likely white (93%)
-Majority are female (73%) male (27%)
-Average age was 30 and the most frequent age was 41
-At the time of the offense, 27% had documented mental illness (depression most common), all female
-At least 43% had a HS education/GED

Marital status by gender:
-Females, married (18%), never married (50%)
-Males, married (89%), never married 30% first marriage, 10% co-habitating/significant relationship

-Full-time employment (60%), part-time (3.3%), student (3%), unemployed (17%)

-No known substance abuse (63%), alcohol only (10%)

-Most common life problem prior to false allegation:
-Marital problems/conflict 63%
-Financial problems 33%
-Mental health issues 23%
-Alcohol/drugs 13%
-Unemployment/recent loss of job 13%

-27% have made at least one prior false allegation; rape/sexual assault (10%), stalking (10%), physical assault (7%), threats (7%)
-23% have been arrested at least once including charges such as theft/larceny, drugs/narcotics, trespassing, assault/battery

-In 73% of cases, the offender brought the case to the attention of law enforcement: sexual assault (73%), abduction (27%), threats (20%), stalking (17%), attempted murder (10%), extortion (7%), physical assault (7%), hate crime (3%), other (13%). 

-Over half (53%) of the cases involved two types of offenses.

-In 73% of cases, there are indications of pre-planning/preparation

-Half of the offenses involved more than one location

-Evidence of physical trauma is reflected in 30% of the cases to include blunt force trauma, edged weapon, ligature strangulation, gunshot wound, burn (fire or chemical)

-Sexual trauma is rare; however, when observed there is trauma to the vaginal cavity, foreign object insertion or breast/nipple lacerations

-Evidence of staging in more than half the cases (60%) to include ransacking, vandalism, threat letters, burglary, use of explosive device, and car jacking

Primary Motivation for the Offenses
-Interpersonal violent allegations (e.g. sexual assault) were primarily motivated by attention/sympathy (50%), whereas interpersonal offenses (e.g. arson, theft) involved other motivations such as providing an alibi (17%), mental illness/depression (13%), profit (13%), and revenge (7%)

Investigative Suggestions
-Conduct 2 prong investigation
-Continue logical investigation to determine if there is, in fact, a legitimate offender
-Conduct discrete, parallel investigation to determine/identify the life problems of the false allegation offender

Interview Strategies
-The interview strategy is depending on the motivation of the offender. An investigator would approach an offender motivated by internal need for attention/sympathy far differently than one motivated by financial gain or revenue
-Emphasize the life problems of the offender

Possible Indicators of False Allegations
-Inconsistent statements by the offender
-Deception on polygraph
-Witness statements that conflict with the offender
-Lack of plausibility in the deception of the reported offense
-Lack of substantiating forensic, physical, and/or medical evidence"
Picture

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Administrative Separation
    Air Force Court Of Criminal Appeals
    Air Force Courts Martial
    Air Force Courts-martial
    Appeals
    Army Court Of Criminal Appeals
    Army Courts Martial
    Article 32 Investigation
    Brian Pristera
    Clemency And Parole
    Coast Guard Courts Martial
    Coast Guard Courts-martial
    Court Martial Defense
    Court Of Appeals For The Armed Forces
    Discharge Review Boards
    Drug Cases
    Jury Instructions
    Marine Corps Cases
    Marine Corps Courts Martial
    Marine Corps Courts-martial
    Navy
    Navy Courts Martial
    Navy Courts-martial
    Navy Marine Corps Court Of Criminal Appeals
    News
    Nonjudicial Punishment
    PTSD
    Science
    Searches And Seizures
    Security Clearance
    Sexual Assault
    TBI

      Free Initial Consultation
      ​Confidential. In-depth. Useful.

    Submit
Free Initial Consultation

(800) 355-1095 Worldwide Toll Free (24h)
(210) 568-2760 (digital fax)
myers@mclaw.us
​www.mcmilitarylaw.com

The information on this page is informational in nature. Nothing on this or associated pages should be construed as legal advice for a particular case. Likewise, the information on this website does not constitute the creation of an attorney-client relationship.
This military law firm has a worldwide presence serving locations such as Fort Hood, Fort Bragg, Iraq, Quantico, Washington, DC, Fort Drum, Fort Stewart, Fort Lewis, Fort Eustis, Camp Pendleton, Camp LeJune, Schofield Barracks, Norfolk Naval Station, Lackland AFB, Langley Air Force Base, Fort Sam Houston, Fort Bliss, Germany, Korea, and all other installations.
East Coast Satellite Office: (Appointment only) 4410 East Claiborne Street, Suite 334, Hampton, VA, 23666​
Central Satellite Office: (Appointment only) San Antonio, TX 78205
Home
Attorneys

Forms, Downloads, & Regulations
Recent Results
​Military Law Blog

Contact
SiteLock
Payment Options
​© All Rights Reserved​
  • Court-Martial Lawyers
    • The Court-Martial Process >
      • General Court-Martial
      • Impeachment Techniques
      • Special Court-Martial
      • Right to Counsel
      • Military Jury Selection
      • Right to a Speedy Trial
      • Your Rights >
        • The Military Rules of Evidence >
          • MRE 311 - Searches and Seizures
          • MRE 412 - Victim's Prior Behavior
          • MRE 413 - Accused's Prior Behavior
          • MRE 613 - Prior Inconsistent Statements
          • MRE 801 - Hearsay
          • MRE 803 - Common Hearsay Exceptions
          • MRE 807 - Residual Hearsay
        • Military Motions Practice >
          • Affirmative Defenses
          • Failure to State an Offense
          • Motion to Suppress Involuntary Statements >
            • Article 31 UCMJ
          • Motion to Suppress - No Rights Advisement
          • Unlawful Command Influence
          • Motion to Change the Location of Trial
          • Unreasonable Multiplication of Charges
        • Court-Martial Consequences
        • Sex Offender Registration
        • Military Protective Orders
        • Family Advocacy Program
      • Right to Experts
      • Release from Pretrial Confinement
    • Military Sexual Assault Lawyer >
      • Substantial Incapacitation >
        • Blackouts
    • Failed Urinalysis >
      • Innocent Ingestion
      • Drug Detection Windows >
        • Cocaine Factsheet
        • Marijuana Factsheet
        • Diazepam Factsheet
        • Morphine and Heroin Factsheet
        • Methadone Factsheet
        • Methamphetamine Factsheet
      • Command Urinalysis Program
      • Performance Enhancing Drugs
    • Article 80 Attempts
    • Article 81 Conspiracy
    • Article 118 Murder
    • Article 128 Assault >
      • Maltreatment
      • Theft and Larceny Cases >
        • Article 132 Frauds Against the United States
      • Parental Discipline Cases
    • AWOL and Desertion >
      • Article 85 Desertion
    • Article 133 Conduct Unbecoming
    • Disrespect Offenses >
      • Failure to Obey an Order
    • Article 107 False Official Statements >
      • Obstruction of Justice
    • Pornography Cases
  • Court-Martial Appeals
    • Petitions for a New Trial
    • Legal and Factual Insufficiency of the Evidence
    • Summary Court-Martial
    • Multiplicity in the Military
    • Sentencing Severity
  • Security Clearances
  • Medical Cases
    • Health Care Providers
    • Post Traumatic Stress
  • Military Law Blog
  • Notable Cases
    • My Lai
    • Abu Ghraib
    • Haditha
    • Maywand District Murders
    • US v Scott
    • MARSOC
  • Military Case Results
  • Attorneys
    • Gary Myers
    • Daniel Conway
    • Brian Pristera
    • Lauren Johnson-Naumann
    • Joseph Galli
  • Military Law Videos
  • Free Initial Consultation
  • Military Law Search
✕