Recently in Military Law Category

Women's equality has come a long way in the United States, but military women still cannot be assigned to combat units. That could change if a new lawsuit against Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta is successful, Stars and Stripes reports.

The suit was filed by four women who served in Afghanistan or Iraq. They're joined by the Service Women's Action Network and are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union as well as a private law firm.

All of the women have engaged in combat while overseas, and two are Purple Heart recipients. They argue that the military's policies do a disservice to women who serve.

In honor of Veterans Day, we here at FindLaw would like to take a moment to thank the men and women who work hard and make extraordinary sacrifices to protect our country every day.

It's not easy to be a soldier, and the law is supposed to ensure that our veterans are taken care of once they return home. But unfortunately that's not the case for everyone who returns to civilian life, unless they're armed with information about what their rights really are.

There are many legal rights specific to veterans, and there are ways to make sure they're enforced. Here are three of the most important veteran's rights you should know about:

Military funeral protests by members of the Westboro Baptist Church may be the target of a bill President Obama's signed into law Monday.

The bill, known as The Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012, is a general package of veteran's affairs laws. It deals with many aspects of care for veterans and their families, covering healthcare, housing, and education.

It also covers memorial services and funerals which is where Westboro Baptist Church comes in.

Presidents Day, officially known as Washington's Birthday under federal law, is a time to honor our nation's chief executives. There have been 44 presidents to date, and many have faced lawsuits before, during, and after their terms of office.

Here are five notable lawsuits involving U.S. presidents:

1. Marbury v. Madison (1803) -- President James Madison, our nation's fourth chief executive and widely known as the "Father of the Constitution," was named in a landmark lawsuit. While serving as President Thomas Jefferson's secretary of state, Madison was sued in a dispute over a man's appointment to a newly established court. The man's claim was denied because the law that allowed him to sue was held unconstitutional -- the first time the Supreme Court made such a ruling. Marbury v. Madison also helped to form the basis of judicial review.

Military mortuary staffers cremated the partial remains of at least 274 U.S. troops and dumped them in a landfill. Relatives of the fallen soldiers were reportedly not informed.

The secret practice ended three years ago, reports The Washington Post, which first uncovered the landfill story last month.

The Post initially reported just one incident in which a soldier's ashes were sent from Dover Air Base in Maryland to a landfill in Virginia. The follow-up reveals the landfill dumping occurred on a much wider scale from 2004 to 2008.

The report follows a federal investigation which found "gross mismanagement" at the Dover mortuary, where remains of service members killed in action are received from overseas.

Just days before Veteran's Day, President Obama has unveiled three new programs to help with veterans' job searches.

The new programs come as Congress is set to vote on giving businesses tax breaks for hiring veterans. Due to a scheduling issue, that bill probably won't be passed until after Veteran's Day, the Navy Times reports.

Tired of taking fire for a stalled economy, President Obama made his veterans' jobs push part of his "We Can't Wait" economic recovery tour. The three new programs announced today are:

President Obama has certified the repeal of the 17-year-old "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, meaning that after September 20th, gays in the military will be allowed to serve openly.

The move comes on the heels of two weeks of legal maneuvering, with the 9th Circuit ordering the federal government to explain why it should not permit a lower court's order permanently repealing DADT to resume.

Obama signed the document that made it official on Thursday, July 21, 2011.

The American Bar Association (ABA) has announced a new website to help military families, including information about the Servicemembers' Civil Relief Act.

As part of its military family support services, the ABA has created the ABA Home Front, to provide legal resources for military families.

The site has three main parts:

• Information Center: Information about a variety of legal issues military families face every day.
• Directory of Programs: A state-by-state map showing legal programs available to military families.
• Military Pro Bono Center: A resource to link up with attorneys who have registered to provide services pro bono (at no cost) to military families.

These resources focus on a whole spectrum of legal issues faced by military families.

When news broke about the killing of Osama Bin Laden, many Americans asked the question - "where are the Osama photos?"

Conspiracy theorist and others wanted to see proof. Many still do.

As it turns out, some news agencies are asking the same question and are petitioning the government to release the photos using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

While some are taking the time to celebrate the death of Osama bin Laden, others are beginning to ask questions about the President's decisions and their basis in law.

The U.S. was arguably on shaky ground when it covertly entered a foreign country to carry out a military mission, but, as of now, the general consensus amongst legal scholars is that killing Osama bin Laden was legal.

For the curious, here is where the law stands at this time.