Behanna v. United States

Amicus curiae brief of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in support of petitioner's petition for writ of certiorari.

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.