Court Martial Appeals Blog
This is a blog focusing on Court Martial Appeals Issues.
Court of Appeals Reaffirms Constitutionality of Service Discrediting Offenses
Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice creates three different types of criminal offenses. First, it criminalizes “disorders and neglects” that are prejudicial to good order and discipline in the armed forces. Second, it criminalizes conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces. Third, it allows the prosecution of existing … Read more
Top Military Appellate Court Sets Aside Lower Court Factual Sufficiency Test
The power granted to the individual service Courts of Criminal Appeals is one of the ways in which military criminal justice is unique. Article 66 of the UCMJ has historically established the service-level appellate courts and charged them with affirming only the findings and sentence that they find correct in law and fact. This is … Read more
Court of Appeals for Armed Forces Affirms Army Court’s Decision in Case Involving Remote Erasure of Digital Evidence
In early 2023, the Army Court of Criminal Appeals issued its decision in United States v. Strong, which was discussed here. SSG Strong was the driver of a military vehicle transporting several USMA cadets to a land navigation course. The vehicle went over an embankment, injuring several cadets and killing one. The Soldier riding with … Read more
Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces Sets Aside Lower Court Opinion Due to Faulty Analysis on Appropriateness of Sentence
The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces recently issued an opinion in United States v. Swisher. Lance Corporal Swisher was court-martialed for several offenses resulting from the sexual assault of a young woman. Both LCpl Swisher and a civilian male were alleged to have assaulted the victim together. The civilian defendant pled guilty to … Read more
Military Appellate Court Sets Aside Conviction for Broadcasting Intimate Images
The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces recently issued its decision in United States v. Grijalva. Petty Officer Grijalva was a member of the Coast Guard in 2019 when he guessed the Snapchat password of a female civilian, B.C.. B.C. had several photographs stored in her Snapchat account, including some nude pictures of herself. … Read more
President Issues Pardon for Certain Article 125 Court-Martial Convictions
From 1951 until 2013, Article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice criminalized consensual sodomy between adults. The military pursued incidents of consensual same-sex sexual activity under this provision for decades. In 2003, the US Supreme Court issued an opinion in Lawrence v. Texas that struck down statutes criminalizing consensual sodomy between adults. The … Read more
Court of Appeals Sets Aside Sentence in Guilty Plea After Military Judge Error
The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces recently released its opinion in the case of United States v. Cole. Airman First Class Cole pled guilty to committing three different assault offenses against a fellow airman. He pled guilty to assault via strangulation on multiple occasions, to simple assault with an unloaded firearm, and to … Read more
Navy-Marine Corps Appellate Court Explains Need for New Trial in Catfishing Case
In March 2024, the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals decided the case of United States v. Colletti. The Court set aside the guilty plea to wire fraud in a case where the accused had used images of women to encourage other women he met online to send him intimate photos of themselves. The Navy-Marine … Read more
Top Military Appellate Court Sets Aside Guilty Verdict in Naval Academy Sexual Assault Case
The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces recently issued a decision in United States v. Keago. Midshipman Keago was charged with attempted sexual assault, sexual assault, burglary, and obstruction of justice related to the alleged sexual assaults of three other midshipmen from the US Naval Academy. He was found guilty of these offenses and … Read more
Navy-Marine Corps Appellate Court Overturns Guilty Plea in Catfishing Case
The Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals recently decided the case of United States v. Colletti. SSgt Colletti executed a scheme to get women to send him nude pictures of themselves. His plan consisted of posing as “Jenicae” and her girlfriend “Nicki.” Operating as these two personas, SSgt Colletti was able to get two different … Read more