U.S. v. Moffeit, 63 M.J. 40

Trial Stages: Appeals: Remedies › Sentence reassessment

1. a court of criminal appeals, in dismissing a charge, may reassess the sentence and that sentence must be equal to or no greater than a sentence that would have been imposed if there had been no error; thus, if the court can determine to its satisfaction that, absent any error, the sentence adjudged would have been of at least a certain severity, then a sentence of that severity or less will be free of the prejudicial effects of error; however, if the error at trial was of constitutional magnitude, then the court must be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that its reassessment cured the error
2. the CCA did not abuse its discretion in concluding that it could determine to its satisfaction that, absent any error, the adjudged sentence for the remaining offense would have been at least the severity of the sentence that the court approved on reassessment where the CCA had extensive experience with the level of sentences imposed for such an offense, where a substantial maximum was still available, where the reassessed sentence was well below that maximum, and where the remaining charge was the most serious offense and had a negative impact in the community