10 U.S.C. § 866 - Art. 66. Review by Court of Criminal Appeals

• Cite as: 10 U.S.C. § 866

(a) COURTS OF CRIMINAL APPEALS.-

(1) IN GENERAL.-Each Judge Advocate General shall establish a Court of Criminal Appeals which shall be composed of one or more panels, and each such panel shall be composed of not less than three appellate military judges. For the purpose of reviewing court-martial cases, the court may sit in panels or as a whole in accordance with rules prescribed under subsection (h). Any decision of a panel may be reconsidered by the court sitting as a whole in accordance with such rules. Appellate military judges who are assigned to a Court of Criminal Appeals may be commissioned officers or civilians, each of whom must be a member of a bar of a Federal court or of the highest court of a State and must be certified by the Judge Advocate General as qualified, by reason of education, training, experience, and judicial temperament, for duty as an appellate military judge. The Judge Advocate General shall designate as chief judge one of the appellate military judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals established by him. The chief judge shall determine on which panels of the court the appellate judges assigned to the court will serve and which military judge assigned to the court will act as the senior judge on each panel. In accordance with regulations prescribed by the President, assignments of appellate military judges under this section (article) shall be for appropriate minimum periods, subject to such exceptions as may be authorized in the regulations.

(2) ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS.-In addition to any other qualifications specified in paragraph (1), any commissioned officer or civilian assigned as an appellate military judge to a Court of Criminal Appeals shall have not fewer than 12 years of experience in the practice of law before such assignment.

(b) REVIEW.-

(1) APPEALS BY ACCUSED.-A Court of Criminal Appeals shall have jurisdiction over a timely appeal from the judgment of a court-martial, entered into the record under section 860c of this title (article 60c), as follows:

(A) On appeal by the accused in a case in which the sentence extends to confinement for more than six months and the case is not subject to automatic review under paragraph (3).

(B) On appeal by the accused in a case in which the Government previously filed an appeal under section 862 of this title (article 62).

(C) On appeal by the accused in a case that the Judge Advocate General has sent to the Court of Criminal Appeals for review of the sentence under section 856(d) of this title (article 56(d)).

(D) In a case in which the accused filed an application for review with the Court under section 869(d)(1)(B) of this title (article 69(d)(1)(B)) and the application has been granted by the Court.

(2) REVIEW OF CERTAIN SENTENCES.-A Court of Criminal Appeals shall have jurisdiction over all cases that the Judge Advocate General orders sent to the Court for review under section 856(d) of this title (article 56(d)).

(3) AUTOMATIC REVIEW.-A Court of Criminal Appeals shall have jurisdiction over a court-martial in which the judgment entered into the record under section 860c of this title (article 60c) includes a sentence of death, dismissal of a commissioned officer, cadet, or midshipman, dishonorable discharge or bad-conduct discharge, or confinement for 2 years or more.

(c) TIMELINESS.-An appeal under subsection (b)(1) is timely if it is filed as follows:

(1) In the case of an appeal by the accused under subsection (b)(1)(A) or (b)(1)(B), if filed before the later of-

(A) the end of the 90-day period beginning on the date the accused is provided notice of appellate rights under section 865(c) of this title (article 65(c)); or

(B) the date set by the Court of Criminal Appeals by rule or order.

(2) In the case of an appeal by the accused under subsection (b)(1)(C), if filed before the later of-

(A) the end of the 90-day period beginning on the date the accused is notified that the application for review has been granted by letter placed in the United States mails for delivery by first class certified mail to the accused at an address provided by the accused or, if no such address has been provided by the accused, at the latest address listed for the accused in his official service record; or