§853a Art. 53a. Plea agreements

Summary

Before the findings are announced under section 853, the convening authority and the accused may make a plea agreement about how some charges will be handled and about limits on possible sentences. The military judge must not join in plea discussions. If a special trial counsel has authority under section 824a, only that special trial counsel and the accused may make a plea agreement in that case. The military judge must accept a fair plea agreement unless certain problems exist. The judge can reject a deal if the proposed sentence is plainly unreasonable, including when a sentencing parameter under section 539E(e) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 applies. The judge must reject agreements that include terms not agreed to by both sides, terms the accused does not understand, terms below the mandatory minimum for offenses in section 856(b)(2) (unless allowed elsewhere), terms forbidden by law, or terms that conflict with Presidential regulations on plea agreements. For offenses in section 856(b)(2), the judge may accept a deal that gives a bad-conduct discharge, and may accept a lesser sentence if the trial counsel recommends it because the accused gave substantial help. Once the judge accepts a plea agreement, it binds the parties, the convening authority (and special trial counsel in applicable cases), and the court-martial.