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When Things Go Awry: Command Responsibility, Death Marches, And Unforeseeable Circumstances, Amos N. Guiora, Nathan H. Jackson

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

Although the events of the past year are in many ways unprecedented, they have resulted in circumstances that are common throughout history. The rise of a global pandemic has led to suffering in many forms, political powers shifting, militant coups rising, and countries facing protests as civil unrest becomes more prevalent. In these uncertain times, political leaders and the role of militaries have been even more scrutinized, revealing flaws that might have remained undetected if it was not for circumstances going awry. These current events have caused us to reflect upon incidents of the past when commanders have faced the …

The Elor Azaria Case And The Murderer Or Hero Dilemma, Amos N. Guiora

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

On Thursday morning, March 24, 2016, Israel Defense Forces Sergeant Elor Azaria killed a severely wounded Palestinian terrorist, Abdel Fattah al-Sharif who was incapacitated when mortally shot. For this act, Azaria was convicted of manslaughter by a military court and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment subsequently reduced by the IDF Chief of Staff, General Gadi Eizencot.

The decision to prosecute Azaria, his subsequent conviction and incarceration, rocked Israeli society reflecting deep fissures on powerful issues, including, but not limited to, what is the normative moral standard expected of soldiers in a non-traditional conflict. The title of this chapter-murderer or hero-is …

Sexual Harassment Is Not A Crime: Aligning The Uniform Code Of Military Justice With Title Vii, Laura T. Kessler, Sagen Gearhart

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

Sexual harassment and sexual assault are ongoing problems in the military. The Department of Defense responded in 2019 with sweeping changes in how the military handles sexual misconduct, including a proposal to criminalize sexual harassment in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). This Article, co-authored by an expert on workplace sex discrimination and a former military officer, responds to this proposal. We argue that sexual harassment, however reprehensible, is not criminal conduct. Moreover, criminalization is likely to undermine the military’s efforts to prevent and punish sexual harassment by raising the stakes for the involved service members, thereby deterring reporting, …