Military Law Blog

Before December 23, 2022, Article 66 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) set up two ways for convicted servicemembers to get direct appellate review from the service courts of criminal appeals. First, courts-martial that resulted in a sentence that included death, dismissal, dishonorable discharge, bad conduct discharge, or confinement for two years or … Read more

Some convictions at court-martial can carry certain collateral consequences. For example, domestic assault convictions will trigger Lautenberg limitations on gun ownership and possession. Convictions for offenses considered felonies at the state level can strip a convicted servicemember of the ability to vote or own weapons. Convictions for sex offenses usually leads to registration as a … Read more

Article 66 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) provides servicemembers who are convicted at court-martial with the ability to appeal those convictions to the service appellate courts. These Article 66, UCMJ, reviews are the majority of the cases that these courts see. However, there are some instances in which the service courts address … Read more

On New Year’s Day in 2020, nine Sailors assigned to Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina were celebrating the new year at a local river bank. While there, Hospitalman Apprentice Helems drank six to eight beers. He then volunteered to drive all eight of his fellow Sailors in his pickup truck. He had five Sailors with … Read more

For decades, servicemembers facing court-martial, nonjudicial punishment, or administrative separation for positive urinalyses have argued that certain results could come from the ingestion of perfectly legal substances. One example of an innocent substance that could lead to a positive opiate urinalysis is poppy seeds, found on bagels, in seasonings, and on other food products. The … Read more

The Army Court of Criminal Appeals recently decided the case of United States v. Strong. SSG Strong was driving a military tactical vehicle with several cadets from the United States Military Academy in the back. Her truck was last in a convoy that was transporting a group of cadets to a land navigation course in … Read more

The Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals recently decided the case of United States v. Gomezvillalobos. Captain Gomezvillalobos was convicted of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance as well as three other specifications on unrelated offenses. In early 2019, the Captain was texting with a 2ndLt he knew about attending an upcoming concert. The 2ndLt … Read more

The Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals recently released its opinion in the case of United States v. Jones. MMFN Jones was with a group of Sailors that rented several rooms at a hotel in Seattle. One of the sailors became very intoxicated and went to sleep in one of the rooms rented by the … Read more

This summer, the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals heard the case of United States v. Dixon. Airman Basic Dixon had been convicted of housebreaking and communicating a threat at general court-martial. Dixon appealed his conviction, claiming that his convictions were not legally or factually sufficient. The Court agreed and set aside his convictions and … Read more

A Marine Sergeant’s conviction was recently upheld by the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals. In United States v. Champion-Flores, the Court found that the Military Judge should have suppressed statements made by the Sergeant. However, the Court determined that this error was not prejudicial to the Sergeant and affirmed his conviction. Servicemembers have a … Read more