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stated previously for not more than an additional 20
days.
Recommendation of the Staff Judge Advocate
or Legal Officer
In addition to the input from the accused, the CA
must receive a written recommendation from his or her
SJA or LO before taking action on a GCM or an SPCM
involving a BCD.
As required by JAG/COMNAV-
LEGSVCCOMINST 5814.1 an SJA/legal offficer
recommendation checklist must be attached to the
original record of trial at this point. The SJA/legal
officer is responsible for using this form to assist in the
preparation of the recommendation.
Care must be taken to make sure the SJA or the LO
is not disqualified
from submitting this
recommendation. Disqualification will result when the
SJA or the LO acted as a member, military judge, TC,
assistant TC, or, more commonly, the investigating
officer in the case. If the SJA or the LO is disqualified,
the CA may request that another SJA be designated to
prepare the recommendation.
The purpose of this recommendation is to assist the
CA in deciding what action to take on the case. The
recommendation must be a concise written
communication summarizing the following:
. The findings and sentence adjudged
. A summary of the accused’s service record, to
include length and character of service, awards and
decorations received, and any records of nonjudicial
punishment (NJP) and/or previous convictions
. A statement of the nature and duration of any
pretrial restraint
l A statement of any action the CA is obligated to
take under a PTA or a statement on why the CA is not
obligated to take specific action under the agreement
. A specific recommendation as to the action to be
taken by the CA on the sentence
Identifying legal errors is not one of the required
goals of this recommendation. In cases of acquittal of
all charges and specifications, and cases where the
proceedings were terminated before findings with no
further action contemplated, the SJA’s or the LO’s
recommendation is not required.
A sample letter addressing the SJA’s
recommendations is illustrated in figure 8-3.
Before you send the record of trial and the
recommendation of the SJA to the CA for action, the SJA
or the LO will cause a copy of the recommendation to
be served on the counsel for the accused. A separate
copy will be served on the accused. If it is impractical
to serve the recommendation on the accused, the
accused’s copy will be sent to the accused’s DC. A
statement will be attached to the record explaining why
the accused was not personally served. Figure 8-4
shows you an example of a memorandum forwarding
the SJA’s recommendations to the DC. The DC must
acknowledge receipt of the SJA’s recommendations.
Figure 8-4, enclosure (2), is an acknowledgement
receipt that the DC must fill out and return to the SJA.
This is for the purpose of determining the date the DC
received the recommendations of the SJA. Figure 8-5
illustrates the type of letter to use for receipt of the SJA’s
recommendations by the DC.
The accused’s counsel has 10 days from the service
of the record of trial or receipt of the recommendations,
whichever is later, to submit written comments on the
recommendation for consideration by the CA. These
comments may include corrections or rebuttals to any
matter in the recommendation believed to be erroneous,
inadequate, or misleading, and may comment on any
other matters desired. The SJA or the LO may
supplement his or her recommendation based upon the
DC’s response. Figure 8-6 is an example of a response
from a DC to an SJA’s recommendation.
Action By the Convening Authority
The first official action to be taken with respect to
the results of trial is the CA’s action. All materials
submitted by the accused, the SJA and/or the LO, and
the DC are preparatory to this official review. The CA
may take action only after the applicable time periods
have expired or the accused has waived the right to
present matters, whichever is earlier. As required by
JAG/COMNAVLEGSVCCOMINST 5814.1, use the
CA’s action checklist to assist in thc preparation of the
CA’s action and attach this checklist to the original
record of trial.
The CA’s action is a legal document attached to the
record of trial setting forth, in prescribed language, the
CA’s decisions and orders with respect to the sentence,
the confinement of the accused, and further disposition
of the case. The action will be signed personally by the
CA, and the CA’s authority to sign will appear below his
or her signature. The action taken with respect to the
sentence is a matter falling within the CA’s sole
discretion. The CA may for any reason or no reason
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