The Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals (NMCCA) is the

intermediate appellate court An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

for criminal convictions in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

and the Marine Corps. Courts-martial are conducted under the

Uniform Code of Military Justice The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) is the foundation of the system of military justice of the armed forces of the United States. The UCMJ was established by the United States Congress in accordance with their constitutional authority ...

( Title 10 of the United States Code §§ 801-946), and the Manual for Courts-Martial. If the trial results in a

conviction In law, a conviction is the determination by a court of law that a defendant is Guilty (law), guilty of a crime. A conviction may follow a guilty plea that is accepted by the court, a jury trial in which a verdict of guilty is delivered, or a ...

, the case is reviewed by the convening authority (the person who referred the case for trial by court-martial). The convening authority has discretion to mitigate the findings and sentence.

Review court

If the sentence, as approved by the convening authority, includes

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

, a bad conduct or dishonorable discharge, dismissal of an officer, or confinement for one year or more, the case is reviewed by an intermediate court. For the Navy and Marine Corps, this is the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals.

Description

The Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals (NMCCA) is located in Washington, D.C. in the Navy Yard. The court conducts mandatory review (unless waived by the appellant) of all courts-martial of members of the naval service referred to the court pursuant to Articles 62, 66, 69, and 73 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. When necessary in furtherance of its

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

, the Court reviews all petitions for extraordinary relief properly filed before it (28 U.S.C. § 1651). The

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

military justice system commonly uses four

writ In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrant (legal), Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, and ''certiorari'' are commo ...

s: ''

mandamus A writ of (; ) is a judicial remedy in the English and American common law system consisting of a court order that commands a government official or entity to perform an act it is legally required to perform as part of its official duties, o ...

'',

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 alcoholic b ...

, error ''coram nobis'', and ''

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...

''. A writ of mandamus is an order from a court of competent jurisdiction that requires the performance of a specified act by an inferior court or authority. The writ of prohibition is used to prevent the commission of a specified act or issuance of a particular order. The writ of error, ''coram nobis'', is used to bring an issue before the court that previously decided the same issue. It allows the court to review error of fact or a retroactive change in the law that which affects the validity of the prior proceeding. The writ of ''habeas corpus'' is used to challenge either the legal basis for or the manner of confinement.''Black's Law Dictionary'' at 638. The court has the statutory authority to determine whether the findings of guilty and the sentence are correct in law and fact for all courts-martial reviewed under Article 66, UCMJ (about 96% of the Court's work), and to take corrective action if prejudicial error has occurred. Such action includes setting aside or modifying the findings and/or the sentence, ordering a rehearing, and dismissing charges and specifications. Unless reversed by a higher court, such action is binding on all parties, including all officials of the United States. The court's published opinions are binding precedent for the conduct of courts-martial in the naval service. The Courts of Criminal Appeals review cases for legal error, factual sufficiency, and sentence appropriateness. All other cases are subject to review by judge advocates under regulations issued by each service. After such review, the Judge Advocate General may refer a case to the appropriate Court of Criminal Appeals. The Courts of Criminal Appeals also have jurisdiction under Article 62 of the UCMJ to consider appeals by the United States of certain judicial rulings during trial. Review under Article 62 is limited to issues involving alleged legal errors. Bluebook citation form for this Court is provided in Table T.1 (N-M. Ct. Crim. App.), ''The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation'' (Columbia law Review Ass'n et al. eds, 18th ed. 2005). The official reporters are West's Military Justice Reporter (M.J.) (1975–present) and Court Martial Reports (C.M.R.) (1951–75) The next level of appeal from the NMCCA is the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF).

Current Composition of the Court

The judges may be commissioned officers or civilians. , the Court is divided into three panels that are constituted as follows:

Panel 1

*Chief Judge CAPT Michael C. Holifield., JAGC, USN *Senior Judge Stuart Kirkby, JAGC, USN *Judge Col Alison Daly, USMC

Panel 2

*Senior Judge LtCol John Hackel, USMC *Judge CDR Nathan Gross, JAGC, USN *Judge LtCol Christopher Blosser, USMC

Panel 3

*Senior Judge CAPT Colin Kisor, JAGC, USN *Judge Col Alison Daly, USMC *Judge CAPT Brian Mizer, JAGC, USN *Note: judges may appear on more than one panel

References

External links

Navy-Marine Corps Courts of Criminal AppealsU.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
{{U.S.-Mil-Judicial Article I tribunals United States military courts United States Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps Courts-martial in the United States 1968 establishments in the United States Courts and tribunals established in 1968