Legal Definitions - United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (USCAAF)

The United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (USCAAF) is a specialized federal appellate court that serves as the highest court for military justice within the United States armed forces.

This court has unique and exclusive authority, extending worldwide, to review legal decisions made in courts-martial involving active members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard who are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The USCAAF primarily reviews cases that have already been decided by the lower military courts of criminal appeals for each service branch. Its decisions can, in turn, be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The USCAAF has the power to review a case under specific circumstances:

• When a lower military appellate court has affirmed a sentence that includes the death penalty.
• When the Judge Advocate General (the senior legal officer) of a service branch directs the case to be sent to the USCAAF for review.
• When the USCAAF itself grants a petition for review from a service member, indicating it believes there is a significant legal issue to address.

Here are some examples of when the USCAAF might exercise its jurisdiction:

• Example 1: Death Sentence Review

  A Marine Corps sergeant is convicted of premeditated murder during a deployment and is sentenced to death by a general court-martial. After the conviction and sentence are affirmed by the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals, the case is automatically sent to the USCAAF for mandatory review. The USCAAF will meticulously examine the entire record to ensure that all legal procedures were followed correctly, the evidence supported the conviction, and the death sentence was imposed lawfully, given the gravity of the punishment.

  This example illustrates the USCAAF's role in reviewing the most severe military justice cases, specifically those involving a death sentence, which are automatically referred to the court.

• Example 2: Judge Advocate General Referral

  An Air Force pilot is convicted of a complex fraud scheme, and during the trial, a novel legal question arises regarding the interpretation of a specific military regulation that has never been definitively addressed by an appellate court. Although the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals upholds the conviction, the Air Force Judge Advocate General believes that the legal question has broad implications for future military prosecutions. To ensure consistent application of military law across the service, the Judge Advocate General orders the case to be sent to the USCAAF for a final, authoritative ruling on that particular legal issue.

  This example demonstrates how the USCAAF can review cases referred by a Judge Advocate General, often to clarify significant legal points that affect military justice more broadly.

• Example 3: Granted Petition for Review

  A Coast Guard officer is convicted of unauthorized absence and receives a punitive discharge. The Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals affirms the conviction and sentence. However, the officer believes there was a serious legal error during the court-martial concerning the admissibility of key evidence, which was not adequately addressed by the lower appellate court. The officer then files a petition directly with the USCAAF, requesting that the court review their case. After reviewing the petition and the legal arguments presented, the USCAAF determines that the issue of evidence admissibility raises a significant question of law and grants the petition, agreeing to hear the case.

  This example highlights the USCAAF's power to grant review in cases where it determines there is a compelling legal reason to do so, often based on a service member's petition.