As we discussed in a recent blog post, many court-martial verdicts are automatically reviewed. In fact, special and general courts-martial are always reviewed by the convening authority, who can reduce the sentence or charge but not increase it. However, if you would like to appeal the results of the convening authority's review, you will need to appeal to the court of appeals for your branch of the military. Members of the United States Army will head to the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals.

Army Court of Criminal Appeals

What is the Army Court of Criminal Appeals?

The U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals (ACCA) is an appellate court that reviews certain convictions of Army personnel. There are three other criminal appeals courts for members of the other branches of the military: the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals, the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals, and the Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals.

What is the composition of the Army Court of Criminal Appeals?

Currently, the court is composed of three judicial panels. Each panel contains three appellate judges (one of which is the senior judge), a commissioner, and a paralegal. There is also a Chief Judge, who has his or her own commissioner and sits on cases with judges from all three of the panels.

When does the Army Court of Criminal Appeals review a case?

As we mentioned above, if unsatisfied with the result of the review by the convening authority, you can appeal to the Army Court of Criminal Appeals if you are a member of the U.S. Army. In addition, when a sentence includes death, a bad-conduct discharge, a dishonorable discharge, dismissal of an officer, or confinement of one year or more, it will automatically be reviewed by the Court of Criminal Appeals following the convening authority's review.

What does the Court of Criminal Appeals do?

The Army Court of Criminal Appeals reviews cases for legal errors, assesses the sufficiency of the facts, and evaluates the appropriateness of the sentence. If an error has occurred, the court will take corrective action. This might include modifying a sentence, ordering a rehearing, or dismissing charges. The action is binding unless the case is reviewed and reversed by a higher court.

Where will a case be reviewed after the Army Court of Criminal Appeals?

After a review by the Army Court of Criminal Appeals, the next level of court-martial appeal is the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

_____

To ensure that your appeal goes smoothly, contact the top-quality lawyers at Newsom & Gapasin. You have the right to an attorney at every level of the appeals process, and our experienced and aggressive law firm would be happy to help. We focus on winning tough cases, some of which have been reported on by national media outlets like CNN, Fox News, Time, the Washington Post, and the New York Times. For more information, please give us a call at 1-(888) 919-8265 , send an e-mail to [email protected], or click here to contact us online. We look forward to hearing from you!