The Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals (AFCCA) is an independent appellate judicial body authorized by

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

and established by the Judge Advocate General of the Air Force pursuant to the exclusive authority under (a). The Court hears and decides appeals of

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

convictions and

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

s ''

pendente lite ''Pendente lite'' is a Latin term meaning "awaiting the litigation" or "pending the litigation" which applies to court orders which are in effect while a matter (such as a divorce) is pending. In divorce a ''pendente lite'' order is often used to ...

''. Its appellate judges are assigned to the Court by The Judge Advocate General. The Judge Advocate General instructs court-martial convening authorities to take action in accordance with the Court's decisions. The Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals is located at

Andrews Air Force Base Andrews Air Force Base (Andrews AFB, AAFB) is the airfield portion of Joint Base Andrews, which is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force. In 2009, Andrews Air Force Base merged with Naval Air Facility Washington to form Joint Ba ...

Prince George's County, Maryland ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobrooks ...

Jurisdiction

The court conducts mandatory review of all courts-martial of Air Force members referred to the court (unless waived by the appellant) pursuant to Articles 62, 66, 69, and 73 of the

Uniform Code of Military Justice The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. §§ 801–946 is the foundation of Military justice, military law in the United States. It was established by the United States Congress in accordance with the authority given by the United S ...

, and, when necessary in furtherance of its jurisdiction, reviews all petitions for extraordinary relief properly filed before it. This includes: #all trials by court-martial in which the sentence includes confinement for one year or longer, a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge, dismissal of a commissioned officer or cadet, or death; #all cases reviewed by the Judge Advocate General of the Air Force and forwarded for review under UCMJ Article 69(d); #certain government appeals of orders or rulings of military trial judges that terminate proceedings, exclude

evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field. In epistemology, evidenc ...

, or which concern the disclosure of

classified information Classified information is material that a government body deems to be sensitive information that must be protected. Access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of people with the necessary security clearance and need to kn ...

; and #petitions for new trial referred by The Judge Advocate General; and #petitions for extraordinary relief, including

writ In common law, a writ (Anglo-Saxon ''gewrit'', Latin ''breve'') is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, a ...

s of

mandamus (; ) is a judicial remedy in the form of an order from a court to any government, subordinate court, corporation, or public authority, to do (or forbear from doing) some specific act which that body is obliged under law to do (or refrain fr ...

, writs of

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholi ...

, writs of

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, ...

, and writs of error coram nobis. The next level of appeal from the AFCCA is the

United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces The United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (in case citations, C.A.A.F. or USCAAF) is an Article I court that exercises worldwide appellate jurisdiction over members of the United States Armed Forces on active duty and other perso ...

Current Composition of the Court

The judges may be commissioned officers or civilians. As of 2019, the Court is constituted as follows: *Chief Judge Karen E. Mayberry *Senior Judge John C. Johnson *Senior Judge Julie J.R. Huygen *Judge Richard A. Mink *Judge Naomi P. Dennis *Judge Tom E. Posch *Judge Michael A. Lewis *Judge James E. Key III *Reserve Judge Joseph S. Kiefer *Reserve Judge Lucy H. Carrillo *Reserve Judge Michael D. Schag

References

External links

Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals official homepageHistory of the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals
United States Air Force Article I tribunals United States military courts Courts-martial in the United States 1968 establishments in the United States Courts and tribunals established in 1968 {{USAF-stub

Jurisdiction

Current Composition of the Court

See also

References

External links