CAAF Opinion Digest · one opinion, every topic

U.S. v. Gibson, 58 M.J. 1

Decided Jan 9, 2003 · No. 02-0443/AR · 2003 Term · Opinion (PDF)

Digested under 3 topics

Core Criminal Law Subjects: Evidence: Accomplice Testimony

  1. the test for determining whether a witness is an accomplice is whether a witness could be convicted of the same crime

Trial Stages: Merits: Instructions › Accomplice testimony

  1. whenever the evidence raises a reasonable inference that a witness may have been an accomplice, and either the Government or defense requests an accomplice instruction, the military judge shall give the members a cautionary instruction regarding accomplice testimony
  2. the standard accomplice instruction need not necessarily be given verbatim, but the critical principles of that instruction shall be given and one of the critical principles is that the testimony of an accomplice must be regarded with caution

Trial Stages: Appeals: Standards of Review, Burdens, etc.

  1. whenever the evidence raises a reasonable inference that a witness may have been an accomplice, and either the Government or defense requests an accomplice instruction, the military judge shall give the members a cautionary instruction regarding accomplice testimony
  2. the standard accomplice instruction need not necessarily be given verbatim, but the critical principles of that instruction shall be given and one of the critical principles is that the testimony of an accomplice must be regarded with caution
Source and status

This is a verbatim mirror of the Opinion Digest and opinions tables published by the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. The headnotes are the court staff’s summaries of the opinions, reproduced as published; they are not the opinions themselves and not this site’s commentary. Nothing here is edited on this site.

Last updated by the court: Oct 13, 2026 · mirrored Oct 29, 2026 · Always confirm a holding against the opinion itself (linked from each case name).