FIRST PRINCIPLES: Jurisdiction: Of U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces

FIRST PRINCIPLES: Jurisdiction: Of U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces

Denedo v. United States, 66 M.J. 114 (although judicial review of immigration proceedings, including any use therein of a court-martial conviction, is outside the jurisdiction of the CAAF, the providence of a guilty plea at a court-martial is subject to its review).

(although military appellate courts are among those empowered to issue extraordinary writs under the All Writs Act, the Act confines a court to issuance of process in aid of its existing statutory jurisdiction and does not enlarge that jurisdiction).

(the CAAF is not given authority, by the All Writs Act or otherwise, to oversee all matters arguably related to military justice, or to act as a plenary administrator even of criminal judgments it has affirmed; there is no source of continuing jurisdiction for the CAAF over all actions administering sentences that it at one time had the power to review).

United States v. Lopez de Victoria, 66 M.J. 67 (the CAAF, like all federal courts, is a court of limited jurisdiction; that jurisdiction is conferred ultimately by the Constitution, and immediately by statute; however, this principle does not mean that the CAAF’s jurisdiction is to be determined by teasing out a particular provision of a statute and reading it apart from the whole; since the beginning of jurisprudence under the UCMJ, the CAAF has read the statutes governing its jurisdiction as an integrated whole, with the purpose of carrying out the intent of Congress in enacting them; the CAAF believes it axiomatic that Article 67 must be interpreted in light of the overall jurisdictional concept intended by the Congress, and not through the selective narrow reading of individual sentences within the article).

(the CAAF has statutory authority under Article 67(a), UCMJ, to exercise jurisdiction over decisions of the courts of criminal appeals rendered pursuant to Article 62, UCMJ).

United States v. Tamez, 63 M.J. 201 (jurisdiction is the power of a court to try and determine a case and to render a valid judgment; the time limits in Article 67, UCMJ, for filing a petition for review with CAAF are not jurisdictional).

(CAAF has consistently permitted appellants to file petitions for grant of review out of time for good cause shown; such a practice is consistent with Congress’s intent that servicemembers have the opportunity to obtain appellate review in an independent civilian court; were the sixty-day timeline jurisdictional, an appellant might be without appellate recourse in CAAF regarding claims such as ineffectiveness of counsel or complaints under Article 13, UCMJ).

United States v. Riley, 58 MJ 305 (the timely filing of a petition for review vests jurisdiction in CAAF and divests the CCA of jurisdiction to reconsider its decision; CAAF may, however, return jurisdiction to the lower court by a remand).

United States v. White, 54 MJ 469 (Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces has jurisdiction under Article 67(c), UCMJ, to determine on direct appeal if the adjudged and approved sentence is being executed in a manner that offends the Eight Amendment or Article 55, UCMJ; Article 67(c) grants the authority to ensure that the severity of the adjudged and approved sentence has not been unlawfully increased by prison officials, and to ensure that the sentence is executed in a manner consistent with Article 55, UCMJ, and the Constitution).