United States v. Pritchard

Amicus Curiae Brief of the Petitioner, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in Support of the Real Party in Interest.
 

Brief filed: 03/14/2022

Documents

United States v. Pritchard

United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals; Case No. ARMY MISC 20220001

Argument(s)

NACDL, as amicus curiae, submits that Article 52(a)(3), UCMJ, which authorizes non-unanimous verdicts by three-fourths of the voting members in a courtmartial for serious offenses, is unconstitutional on its face. First, military law has long recognized that a military accused has a right to “a fair and impartial panel” which is “a matter of due process” under the Fifth Amendment. United States v. Wiesen, 56 M.J. 172, 174 (CAAF 2001). That is because “[i]mpartial court members are the sine qua non for a fair court-martial.” United States v. Modesto, 43 M.J. 315, 318 (CAAF 1995).

Author(s)

Donald G. Rehkopf, Jr., Law Office of Donald G. Rehkopf, Jr., Rochester, New York; Barbara E. Bergman, NACDL, Tucson, AZ.

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