When The Military Investigators Come Calling…®

POST-TRIAL REVIEW

An accused that has been convicted at court-martial has the right to have his case reviewed. In addition to review by the convening authority, some cases are reviewed by the military appellate system. Depending on the type of court-martial and the approved sentence, one may potentially appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Uniform Code of Military Justice (U.C.M.J.) provides for the various review processes in Articles 59-76.

The military's appellate process begins with a review by the convening authority. The convening authority is the commander who referred the accused's case to trial. This review is mandatory and cannot be delegated. It is possible that, instead of the commander, the review may be made by a temporary convening authority, the successor in command, or by any general court-martial convening authority.

Assuming that the convening authority does not set aside the court-martial, and depending on the type of court-martial and the sentence, an accused has an automatic right to appeal to a service Court of Criminal Appeals. There are four service Courts of Criminal Appeals (Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, and Navy-Marine Corps). They are all located in the Washington, D.C. area. The U.C.M.J. allows for both military and civilian judges to serve on the service courts. Each court consists of one or more panels of three judges. All the judges (also called en banc) sitting on the service court may review the case. The court can act only with regard to the findings and sentence as approved by the convening authority. A decision by a service Court of Criminal Appeals is binding on all trial courts-martial within that service, absent a contrary ruling by the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. For example, a legal ruling by the Army Court of Criminal Appeals would bind Army trial courts, but not Navy or Air Force courts.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) is located in Washington, D.C. It is composed of five civilian judges appointed by the President for fifteen-year terms. Officially, the Court is attached to the Department of Defense. Unlike the service Court of Criminal Appeals, the CAAF does not have fact-finding powers and its review is limited to examining questions of law. A majority of the CAAF's cases are reviewed upon an accused's petition following review by a service Court of Criminal Appeals. In this instance, the CAAF will only review the specific issues presented for review.

Should the CAAF fail to set aside the decision of the lower courts, the accused, under limited circumstances, may petition the Supreme Court of the United States for a Writ of Certiorari. The accused does not have an absolute right to have the Supreme Court review the case. It is within the discretion of the Supreme Court as to whether it will review the case or not. When one says that he is going to appeal his case to the U.S. Supreme Court, it will only happen if the Supreme Court decides to hear the case. The Supreme Court agrees to consider a very small percentage of all cases filed with the Court.