General, special, and summary court martial cases are the three types of court martial cases. A summary court martial conviction can be appealed to the next higher level of command within five days after the sentence. The higher-level commander has the option of removing, reducing, or maintaining punishment. They are unable to raise the severity of the penalty. A summary court martial conviction cannot be appealed to a military appeals court. If you disagree with the decision, you can appeal to the Judge Advocate General or the Board of Correction of Military Records.
You have the right to a free military defense attorney throughout the appeals process, or you can hire your own court martial attorney. The convening authority reviews the matter before it proceeds to the court of appeals. This is the person who referred the matter to a court martial in the first place. They can’t raise your penalties; instead, they can only lower or erase them. They can also seek advice from a judicial advocate who can point them in the right route.
The Military Courts of Appeal
There are four appeals courts in the United States. The Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals, the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals, the Army Court of Criminal Appeals, and the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals are the four branches of the military justice system. If the consequences include a negative kind of discharge or one year of incarceration, the case is automatically reviewed by the court of the relevant branch of the armed services. They will also conduct an automated review of all cases involving the death sentence. Other matters are reviewed by the military court of appeals at their discretion. If a service member obtains penalties that do not qualify for an automatic review, he or she can ask the Judge Attorney General to have the matter sent to the court of appeals, although this is not usually successful. If the case is not accepted for review by the court of appeals, they might request that the matter be reviewed by the Judge Attorney General.
After that, the military court of appeal decides whether the service member was found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The court will look into any possible legal flaws that occurred during the case. The court can only dismiss the case or lower the fines throughout the appeal process, not raise them. Cases that are subject to automatic review will be examined to see if the service member pleaded guilty freely or did not defend their innocence during the procedures.
If you’re not satisfied with the findings of this step of the appeals procedure, you can take your case to the Armed Forces Court of Appeals. Any cases that involve the death sentence will be evaluated automatically. Any cases that the Judge Attorney General presents for review because of an incorrect sentence or a legal mistake are also reviewed by this court. Any additional appeals are authorized on a case-by-case basis, and an attorney must persuade the court that an appeal is warranted. Unlike the other lower military courts of appeal, the Court of Appeals for Armed Forces does not analyze the case’s factors, instead focusing solely on the previous courts’ legal mistakes.
Other Options
If you don’t have any other alternatives for reviewing your case, you can submit a writ of habeas corpus with a lower military court or the Armed Forces Court of Appeals. Only in exceptional instances can they be allowed. You can also ask the United States Supreme Court for review, although you’re unlikely to get very far. Even cases involving the death sentence are not needed to be heard by the Supreme Court. Some military matters are not eligible for Supreme Court review. The last and most extreme choice is to seek clemency. You can do this at any point throughout or after the appeals process.
How the Court Reviews Your Case
The procedure is comparable to those of other appellate courts, and the appeal encompasses numerous connected areas. The first thing that is looked at is whether or not there were any legal errors made throughout the trial. The court then considers your penalty and assesses its severity to determine if it is appropriate. The evidence provided against you is also investigated by the court to ensure that you were found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The Armed Forces Court of Appeals is significantly more limited in scope, and reaching this level of appeal is much more difficult. It simply looks at the errors and ignores the rest of the trial procedure and evidence. It also ignores everything that occurred before you filed the appeal.
