Free Joint Status Report - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:05-cv-00410-MMS

Document 24

Filed 08/01/2006

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS MARIO R. LOPEZ-VELAZQUEZ, Plaintiff, v. THE UNITED STATES, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

No. 05-410C (Chief Judge Damich)

JOINT STATUS REPORT Pursuant to this Court's November 1, 2005 order, the parties respectfully submit the following Joint Status Report regarding the status of proceedings before the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records ("AFBCMR" or "board"). The board has received an advisory opinion from the Air Force Legal Operations Agency regarding the standard for ineffective assistance of counsel in a pre-trial context such as the circumstances under which the plaintiff in this matter agreed to a discharge in lieu of a courts-martial. Mr. Lopez-Velazquez has been afforded an opportunity to respond to that opinion. In addition, the board has obtained the record of an ethics investigation involving the attorney who represented Mr. Lopez-Velazquez in the criminal proceedings prior to his discharge from military service. Mr. Lopez-Velazquez's counsel has requested a copy of the report, and the board is requesting permission from the Judge Advocate General to release the ethics report to Mr. Lopez-Velazquez's current counsel. If such permission is granted, the AFBCMR intends to allow Mr. Lopez-Velazquez an opportunity to comment upon that part of the record. The AFBCMR expects to be able to render an opinion within 30 days of Mr. Lopez-Velazquez's response. To allow for the completion of the AFBCMR review along the lines described herein, the parties respectfully request that this Court stay this matter for an additional 60 days, from August 8, 2006 until October 9, 2006.

Case 1:05-cv-00410-MMS

Document 24

Filed 08/01/2006

Page 2 of 3

Respectfully submitted, PETER D. KEISLER. Assistant Attorney General DAVID M. COHEN Director s/ Todd M. Hughes TODD M. HUGHES Assistant Director s/ Gary Myers GARY MYERS 78 Clark Mill Road Weare, NH 03281 Attorney for Plaintiff s/ James D. Colt JAMES D. COLT Trial Attorney Department of Justice Civil Division Commercial Litigation Branch 1100 L. Street, NW Attn: Classification Unit 8th Floor Washington, D.C. 20530 Tel: (202) 305-7562 Fax: (202) 305-7643 Attorneys for Defendant

August 1, 2006

Case 1:05-cv-00410-MMS

Document 24

Filed 08/01/2006

Page 3 of 3

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on this 1st day of August, 2006, a copy of the foregoing JOINT STATUS REPORT, was filed electronically. I understand that notice of this filing will be sent to all parties of record by the operation of the Court's electronic filing system. Parties may access this filing through the Court's system.

s/ James D. Colt