Court-Martial Clemency

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. Gone are the days in which clemency setting aside convictions or sentences in any military case was authorized.

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)

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 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

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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. Mr. Stevens and Mr. Spinner are civilian criminal defense attorneys and former active duty military JAG lawyers who exclusively defend 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 lawyer 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.