Any administrative discharge, whether it resulted from an administrative board or not, can be upgraded, regardless of the characterization of service. In addition, discharges resulting from special court-martials can be upgraded. The Discharge Review Boards will not consider discharges resulting from a general court-martial.
William Cassara
The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces expanded the scope of evidence of uncharged acts the Government may introduce at court-martial with its latest decision. In United States v. Greene-Watson, the Court affirmed SrA Greene-Watson’s conviction for communicating a threat to his wife. The charged offense occurred in September 2020 during an argument between … Read more
Yes. Appeals are generally submitted to the Board for Correction of Military Records, but can also be filed in Federal Court. In addition, you can ask the Discharge Review Board to reconsider its decision based on “newly discovered evidence.” Army Regulation (AR) 15-80, at http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/r15_180.pdf, contains all of the information you need to know about the process.
The Army Court of Criminal Appeals recently issued its opinion in the case of United States v. Lathrop. On September 26, 2023, SPC Lathrop pled guilty to three specifications of domestic violence at a special court-martial. Pursuant to his pretrial agreement, he was sentenced to ten months confinement and a bad-conduct discharge. Following his court-martial, … Read more
Depending on your service, it can take six months to two years. Personal Appearances take longer than “records reviews.”
Contact Mr. Cassara by phone or by using the contact form on this page. Please include the following information: the date of your discharge, the reason for the discharge, the service you were in, and the type of discharge you received.
The Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals released its opinion in United States v. London last month. LCpl London was originally convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Quantico in 2021. He was sentenced to 65 months confinement and was sent to the brig on Camp Pendleton to serve this time. In February 2022, LCpl London became … Read more
You can request that your discharge be upgraded to Honorable, or any other characterization of service. We recommend requesting an Honorable Discharge in nearly all circumstances. Soldiers discharged under Other Than Honorable conditions after 1 October 1982 while in entry level status (less than 6 months service) may request upgrade to an uncharacterized discharge. To … Read more
On December 20, 2024, President Biden issued Executive Order 14130. This Order amended and added to the Manual for Courts-Martial. The majority of the changes became effective on the date the Order was issued, with the remainder going into effect on December 22 and December 23, 2024. The changes cover several areas of military justice … Read more
Corporal RosarioMartinez was charged with sexual assault of another Marine after the two were drinking at a bar. During voir dire, the military judge asked the members if they had been instructed on the definition of consent through Marine Corps training. They all said that they had and the military judge stopped for a brief … Read more