§860a Art. 60a. Limited Authority to Act on Sentence in Specified Post-trial Circumstances

Summary

The official who sent a serious general or special court-martial to trial may only change the punishment in certain ways and cannot change whether someone was found guilty. This rule covers cases where the maximum punishment for an offense is more than 2 years, where total jail time ordered is more than 6 months, where the sentence includes a dismissal or other punitive discharge, or where the accused was found guilty of certain sexual offenses (or other offenses the Secretary of Defense lists). Usually the official must act before the judgment is entered, and a current commander or their successor can act in the official’s place under the service rules. The official may not reduce, commute, or suspend a sentence of more than six months’ confinement in total, a dismissal or bad-conduct/dishonorable discharge, or a death sentence. The official can reduce other sentences. If the military judge recommends suspension in the trial record and explains why, the official may suspend confinement or a discharge but not a required minimum sentence or more than the judge recommended. If the accused gives substantial help to investigators or prosecutors, a trial counsel’s recommendation can let the official reduce or suspend even mandatory minimums, sometimes even after judgment under rules. The official must consider written submissions from the accused and any victims, follow rules about notice, deadlines, and giving access to recordings and exhibits, and cannot use new statements about a victim’s character unless that evidence was shown at trial. The official must send the decision to the military judge and give copies to the accused and victims, explain any reasons in writing, and, when required, send changes to the chief trial judge and the Judge Advocate General.