U.S. v. Curtis, 52 M.J. 166

Trial Stages: Sentence and Punishment: Capital Punishment

1. the plain language of Article 66(c), UCMJ, its legislative history, and the precedents of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces provide ample authority for the Courts of Criminal Appeals to cure an error in the imposition of the death sentence by reassessing the sentence to life imprisonment

Trial Stages: Appeals: Courts of Criminal Appeals › Generally

1. the plain language of Article 66(c), UCMJ, its legislative history, and the precedents of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces provide ample authority for the Courts of Criminal Appeals to cure an error in the imposition of the death sentence by reassessing the sentence to life imprisonment
2. Court of Criminal Appeals is not required to explain its decision to reassess punishment rather than order a rehearing; thus, Court of Appeals for Armed Forces will not weigh adequacy of any explanation that was provided

Trial Stages: Appeals: Remedies › Rehearing

1. Court of Criminal Appeals is not required to consider a rehearing on sentence unless it determines that it cannot reliably reassess the sentence, i.e., be convinced that appellant’s sentence would have been at least of a certain magnitude

Trial Stages: Appeals: Remedies › Sentence reassessment

1. the plain language of Article 66(c), UCMJ, its legislative history, and the precedents of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces provide ample authority for the Courts of Criminal Appeals to cure an error in the imposition of the death sentence by reassessing the sentence to life imprisonment
2. Court of Criminal Appeals did not abuse its discretion by reassessing sentence to confinement for life rather than authorizing rehearing at which sentence of death would be available since that court could discern that the sentence would have been at least life imprisonment, the statutory minimum for the offenses involved

Trial Stages: Appeals: Standards of Review, Burdens, etc.

1. reassessments by the Courts of Criminal Appeals will only be disturbed to prevent obvious miscarriages of justice or abuses of discretion; an abuse of discretion exists where the challenged action is arbitrary, fanciful, clearly unreasonable, or clearly erroneous