JAG CENTRAL

From the AP (via The Kansas City Star), an update on the first day of the rape trial of Army 1LT Mike Hall, a New Jersey National Guard soldier:

Jennifer Dyer, a former first lieutenant in the New Jersey National Guard, told a military judge Monday that in August 2004, Hall tore off her clothes and raped her twice in her barracks room at Camp Shelby, near Hattiesburg, Miss.

During cross examination, Hall's attorney Victor Kelley pointed out that Dyer had submitted an unsuccessful request for resignation in November 2003. When she was mobilized and faced a tour of duty in Iraq in August, she made up the allegations as a "last resort," Kelley said.

ANALYSIS: At the Article 32 hearing, the investigating officer recommended that charges be dropped. However, the convening authority decided to press charges anyways. While not unheard of, it is extremely rare. Hall's attorneys claim that the current rape scandals in the military have put political pressure on the convening authority to overcharge this case.