Military Court-Martial Clemency Lawyer

If a military member is convicted and sentenced in a General Court-Martial or Special Court-Martial trial, his/her first post-trial opportunity for relief is called court-martial clemency.

After a military court-martial trial is over, if the military accused has been convicted, the court-martial Convening Authority will take action on the case. This is called clemency. This happens before the case proceeds to the appeal stage.

In recent years, the rules regarding clemency have changed drastically. What action a court-martial Convening Authority can now take in the clemency stage is very limited, particularly with regard to the Convening Authority’s former rights to set aside and/or reduce convictions and sentences.

Now, there are many military cases/outcomes in which the Convening Authority cannot grant any meaningful post-trial clemency at all.

Despite these disappointing changes to the military court-martial clemency process, the following post-trial rules govern the clemency process:

UCMJ Article 60 (and subparts): Post-Trial Processing in General and Special Courts-Martial

RCM 1102: Execution and Effective Date of Sentences

RCM 1103: Deferment of Confinement, Forfeitures, and Reduction in Grade; Waiver of Article 58b Forfeitures

RCM 1104: Post-Trial Motions and Proceedings

RCM 1105: Post-Trial Hearing for Person Found Not Guilty Only by Reason of Lack of Mental Responsibility

RCM 1106: Matters Submitted by the Accused

RCM 1106A: Matters Submitted by Crime Victim

RCM 1107: Suspension of Execution of Sentence; Remission

RCM 1108: Vacation of Suspension of Sentence

RCM 1109: Reduction of Sentence, General and Special Court-Martial;

RCM 1110: Action by Convening Authority in Certain General and Special Courts-Martial

Through these post-trial rules, and although a military member may have been convicted and sentenced in a court-martial trial, there could still be opportunities for some relief. A court-martial conviction and sentence can have devastating legal, professional, personal and family consequences. Experienced and aggressive defense representation, led by a skilled court-martial appeals lawyer, is crucial in the post-trial phase of a military court-martial trial.

Defending military members in court-martial trials, court-martial clemency and court-martial appeal is what civilian court-martial defense lawyers do. The only type of law we handle is military law. Attorney Richard V. Stevens is a civilian criminal defense attorney and former active duty military JAG lawyer who exclusively defends military members stationed around the world who are facing military trials, discipline, and investigations. If you are in need of experienced representation, consider reaching out to these skilled court-martial lawyers for dedicated support and expert guidance in military legal matters.

If you’re facing military court-martial allegations or post-trial processing, don’t hesitate to seek the legal help you’re going to need. For a free initial case consultation, please contact us.

No attorney can guarantee the outcome you seek in your military case. What we can promise is that we will apply our decades of experience to the defense of your military case. This includes our extensive experience in military law, military regulations, military investigations, military disciplinary actions, military adverse actions, and/or military court-martial trials and cases.

Client Testimonials and Reviews

Please see Client Testimonials and Client Reviews for Attorney Richard V. Stevens.

Law Firm Social Media Accounts

Please find updates on our law firm and our cases on our social media:
Our Blog
Successful Case Defenses Through 2025
Twitter X
Facebook
Instagram