United States v. Arness, 74 M.J. 441

First Principles: Jurisdiction: Of Courts of Criminal Appeals

1. the CCAs are courts of limited jurisdiction, defined entirely by statute
2. the limited jurisdiction of the CCAs is spelled out in two statutes, Articles 66 and 69, UCMJ
3. under Article 66, UCMJ, the CCA is required to review the record in each trial by court-martial in which the sentence, as approved, extends to death, dismissal of a commissioned officer, cadet, or midshipman, dishonorable or bad-conduct discharge, or confinement for one year or more; general court-martial cases not meeting the minimum requirements of Article 66 must be reviewed in the office of the JAG, absent an accused’s waiving or withdrawing from appellate review; if any part of the findings or sentence is found to be unsupported in law or if reassessment of the sentence is appropriate, the JAG may modify or set aside the findings or sentence or both; under limited circumstances, the JAG may also modify or set aside the findings or sentence of cases not reviewed under Article 66 or Article 69
4. under Article 69, UCMJ, the CCA may review any court-martial case which is subject to action by the JAG under Article 69 and is sent to the CCA by order of the JAG and it may review any action taken by the JAG under this Article 69 in such case; however, review in such cases is limited to matters of law, unlike the CCA’s normal review under Article 66(c)
5. where appellant’s approved general court-martial sentence was less than the statutory minimum required to trigger direct review by the CCA and after the JAG determined under Article 69(a), UCMJ, that the findings and sentence were supported in law, and elected not to send the case to the CCA for review under Article 69(d), the CCA concluded that it had jurisdiction to consider appellant’s petition for a writ of error coram nobis; this was error, even though it denied appellant relief; consideration of extraordinary relief is not in aid of the CCA’s jurisdiction, where the CCA had none in the first place; Article 69 does not authorize the CCA to review every case which is subject to action by the JAG pursuant to Article 69; instead, it grants the CCA authority to review any action taken by the JAG under Article 69 in any case that the JAG elects to refer to the CCA; because in this case, the JAG did not refer appellant’s case to the CCA - a statutory prerequisite for its review - the CCA was without jurisdiction to review it; to the extent that McPhail v. US, 1 MJ 457 (CMA 1976) and Unger v. Ziemniak, 27 M.J. 349 (CMA 1989), Dew v. US, 48 MJ 639 (A Ct Crim App 1998), are inconsistent with the opinion in this case, they are overruled

First Principles: Jurisdiction: Of U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces

1. where the CCA had no jurisdiction to consider a writ, the CAAF is without jurisdiction to hear a writ-appeal because the CAAF’s jurisdiction is predicated on the jurisdiction of the CCA

Trial Stages: Appeals: Courts of Criminal Appeals › Generally

1. the CCAs are courts of limited jurisdiction, defined entirely by statute
2. the limited jurisdiction of the CCAs is spelled out in two statutes, Articles 66 and 69, UCMJ
3. under Article 66, UCMJ, the CCA is required to review the record in each trial by court-martial in which the sentence, as approved, extends to death, dismissal of a commissioned officer, cadet, or midshipman, dishonorable or bad-conduct discharge, or confinement for one year or more; general court-martial cases not meeting the minimum requirements of Article 66 must be reviewed in the office of the JAG, absent an accused’s waiving or withdrawing from appellate review; if any part of the findings or sentence is found to be unsupported in law or if reassessment of the sentence is appropriate, the JAG may modify or set aside the findings or sentence or both; under limited circumstances, the JAG may also modify or set aside the findings or sentence of cases not reviewed under Article 66 or Article 69
4. under Article 69, UCMJ, the CCA may review any court-martial case which is subject to action by the JAG under Article 69 and is sent to the CCA by order of the JAG and it may review any action taken by the JAG under this Article 69 in such case; however, review in such cases is limited to matters of law, unlike the CCA’s normal review under Article 66(c)
5. where appellant’s approved general court-martial sentence was less than the statutory minimum required to trigger direct review by the CCA and after the JAG determined under Article 69(a), UCMJ, that the findings and sentence were supported in law, and elected not to send the case to the CCA for review under Article 69(d), the CCA concluded that it had jurisdiction to consider appellant’s petition for a writ of error coram nobis; this was error, even though it denied appellant relief; consideration of extraordinary relief is not in aid of the CCA’s jurisdiction, where the CCA had none in the first place; Article 69 does not authorize the CCA to review every case which is subject to action by the JAG pursuant to Article 69; instead, it grants the CCA authority to review any action taken by the JAG under Article 69 in any case that the JAG elects to refer to the CCA; because in this case, the JAG did not refer appellant’s case to the CCA - a statutory prerequisite for its review - the CCA was without jurisdiction to review it; to the extent that McPhail v. US, 1 MJ 457 (CMA 1976) and Unger v. Ziemniak, 27 M.J. 349 (CMA 1989), Dew v. US, 48 MJ 639 (A Ct Crim App 1998), are inconsistent with the opinion in this case, they are overruled

Trial Stages: Appeals: Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces

1. where the CCA had no jurisdiction to consider a writ, the CAAF is without jurisdiction to hear a writ-appeal because the CAAF’s jurisdiction is predicated on the jurisdiction of the CCA