U.S. v. Stephens, 56 M.J. 391

Trial Stages: Initial Review: Post-trial Submissions

1. speculation concerning the consideration of post-trial matters simply cannot be tolerated in this important area of command prerogative; court will not guess as to whether clemency matters prepared by the defense counsel were attached to the recommendation or otherwise considered by the convening authority

Trial Stages: Initial Review: Action

1. neither the UCMJ nor the Rules for Courts-Martial require the convening authority to state in the final action what materials were reviewed in reaching a final decision; thus court declines to hold that a document embodying the convening authority’s final action is defective simply because it refers to the SJA’s recommendation without also referring to attachments, such as an addendum or clemency materials