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

intermediate appellate court An intermediate appellate court is an appellate court that is not the court of last resort in its jurisdiction. See also * Appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a fo ...

for criminal convictions in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and the

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...

Courts-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 ...

are conducted under 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 ...

(

Title 10 of the United States Code Title 10 of the United States Code outlines the role of armed forces in the United States Code. It provides the legal basis for the roles, missions and organization of each of the services as well as the United States Department of Defense. Ea ...

§§ 801-946), and the

Manual for Courts-Martial The ''Manual for Courts-Martial'' (''MCM'') is the official guide to the conduct of courts-martial in the United States military. An Executive Order of the President of the United States, the ''MCM'' details and expands on the military law estab ...

. If the trial results in a

conviction In law, a conviction is the verdict reached by a court of law finding a defendant guilty of a crime. The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (that is, "not guilty"). In Scotland, there can also be a verdict of " not proven", which is cons ...

, the case is reviewed by the

convening authority The term convening authority is used in United States military law to refer to an individual with certain legal powers granted under either the Uniform Code of Military Justice (i.e. the regular military justice system) or the Military Commissions ...

(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 irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

, a bad conduct or dishonorable discharge, dismissal of an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

, 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' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. J ...

, 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 (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

military justice system commonly uses four

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

error coram nobis A writ of ''coram nobis'' (also writ of error ''coram nobis'', writ of ''coram vobis'', or writ of error ''coram vobis'') is a legal order allowing a court to correct its original judgment upon discovery of a fundamental error that did not appear i ...

, and

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, ...

. 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 ''The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation'' is a style guide that prescribes the most widely used legal citation system in the United States. It is taught and used at a majority of U.S. law schools and is also used in a majority of federal ...

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 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 ...

(CAAF).

Current Composition of the Court

The judges may be commissioned officers or civilians. As of 2019, the Court is divided into three panels that are constituted as follows:

Panel 1

*Senior Judge CAPT Michael C. Holifield., JAGC, USN *Judge LtCol Stephen R. Stewart, USMC *Judge Col. John M. Hackel, USMC

Panel 2

*Presiding Senior Judge LtCol John J. Stephens, USMC *Chief Judge CAPT Robert P. Monahan Jr., JAGC, USN *Judge CDR Christopher J. Deerwester, JAGC, USN

Panel 3

*Senior Judge CAPT Arthur L. Gaston III, JAGC, USN *Judge Col Peter D. Houtz, USMC *Judge CAPT Amanda R. Myers, 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