Jury selection to begin Friday in Naval Academy sexual assault trial
The Washington Post reports:
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Friday in the trial of a former U.S. Naval Academy football player accused of sexually assaulting a female classmate at an off-campus party nearly two years ago.
Defense attorneys for midshipman Joshua Tate, of Nashville, are expected to carefully screen each potential juror for any signs they have been influenced by comments made by President Obama and top Navy officials about the need for the military to do more to stamp out sexual assault within its ranks.
Tate’s lawyers have made an issue of what the military calls “unlawful command influence” in recent months as they sought to have the case dismissed. They argued that political considerations drove U.S. Naval Academy Superintendent Michael Miller to put Tate on trial, counter to recommendations by his legal adviser and another military judge who examined extensive evidence in the case.
