Brief filed: 02/27/2013
Documents
Behanna v. United States
United States Supreme Court; Case No. 12-802
Prior Decision
Decision below 71 M.J. 228 (U.S. Armed Forces Jul 05, 2012).
Argument(s)
The Supreme Court should grant the petition for writ of certiorari. Congress and this Court have increasingly preferred collateral review, rather than direct appeals, for supervising civilian criminal convictions. Post-conviction review of military convictions has followed the opposite pattern. In the military context, collateral review of criminal convictions is severely limited to whether the military court gave "full and fair consideration" to defendant's constitutional claims. And unlike civilian criminal convictions, Congress has explicitly indicated its desire for the Court to exercise a more aggressive supervisory role over military convictions. This case is appropriate candidate for such supervision.
Author(s)
Lindsay C. Harrison, Jenner & Block LLP, Washington, DC; Stephen Vladeck, Washington, DC; Jeffrey T. Green, Washington, DC.