[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 75 (Wednesday, April 18, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23226-23228]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-9253]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary

[Docket ID DOD-2012-OS-0048]


U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces Proposed Rules Changes

ACTION: Notice of proposed changes to the Rules of Practice and 
Procedure of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the following proposed changes to Rules 
19(b) and 22(b) of the Rules of Practice and Procedure, United States 
Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

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DATES: Comments on the proposed change must be received within 30 days 
of the publication date of this notice.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number and 
title by any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
    <bullet> Mail: Federal Docket Management System Office, 4800 Mark 
Center Drive, East Tower, Suite 02G09, Alexandria, VA 22350-3100.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and docket number for this Federal Register document. The general 
policy for comments and other submissions from members of the public is 
to make these submissions available for public viewing on the Internet 
at http://regulations.gov as they are received without change, 
including personal identifiers or contact information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William A. DeCicco, Clerk of the 
Court, telephone 202-761-1448.

    Dated: April 12, 2012.
Aaron Siegel,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.

Rules 19(b)

    The first sentences of Rules 19(b)(1), (2), and (3) currently read:
    (b) Certificate for review/brief/answer/reply.
    (1) Article 62, UCMJ, cases. In cases involving a decision by a 
Court of Criminal Appeals on appeal by the United States under Article 
62, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. 862, a certificate for review, together with a 
supporting brief in accordance with Rule 24 on behalf of the appellant, 
shall be filed with the Court by the Judge Advocate General no later 
than 30 days after the date of the decision of the Court of Criminal 
Appeals.
    (2) Extraordinary relief cases. In cases involving a decision by a 
Court of Criminal Appeals on application for extraordinary relief filed 
therein, a certificate for review, together with a supporting brief in 
accordance with Rule 24 on behalf of the appellant, shall be filed with 
the Court by the Judge Advocate General no later than 30 days after the 
date of the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeals.
    (3) Other cases. In all other cases involving a decision by a Court 
of Criminal Appeals, a certificate for review filed by the Judge 
Advocate General shall be filed either (a) no later than 30 days after 
the date of the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeals (see Rules 22 
and 34(a)), or (b) no later than 30 days after a petition for grant of 
review is granted.
    The proposed changes to the first sentences of Rule 19(b)(1), (2) 
and (3) would read:
    (1) Article 62, UCMJ, cases. In cases involving a decision by a 
Court of Criminal Appeals on appeal by the United States under Article 
62, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. Sec.  862, a certificate for review, together with 
a supporting brief in accordance with Rule 24 on behalf of the 
appellant, shall be filed with the Court by the Judge Advocate General 
no later than 60 days after the date of the decision of the Court of 
Criminal Appeals.
    (2) Extraordinary relief cases. In cases involving a decision by a 
Court of Criminal Appeals on application for extraordinary relief filed 
therein, a certificate for review, together with a supporting brief in 
accordance with Rule 24 on behalf of the appellant, shall be filed with 
the Court by the Judge Advocate General no later than 60 days after the 
date of the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeals.
    (3) Other cases. In all other cases involving a decision by a Court 
of Criminal Appeals, a certificate for review filed by the Judge 
Advocate General shall be filed either (a) no later than 60 days after 
the date of the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeals (see Rules 22 
and 34(a)), or (b) no later than 30 days after a petition for grant of 
review is granted.

Rule 22(b)

    The first sentences of Rule 22(b)(1), (2), and (3) currently read:
    (b)(1) Article 62, UCMJ, cases. A certificate for review of a 
decision by a Court of Criminal Appeals on appeal by the United States 
under Article 62, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. 862, shall be filed, together with a 
supporting brief in accordance with Rule 24, on behalf of the appellant 
no later than 30 days after the date of the decision of the Court of 
Criminal Appeals.
    (2) Extraordinary relief cases. A certificate for review of a 
decision by a Court of Criminal Appeals on application for 
extraordinary relief filed therein shall be filed, together with a 
supporting brief in accordance with Rule 24, on behalf of the 
appellant, no later than 30 days after the date of the decision of the 
Court of Criminal Appeals.
    (3) Other cases. In all other cases involving a decision by a Court 
of Criminal Appeals, a certificate for review shall be filed either (a) 
no later than 30 days after the date of the decision of the Court of 
Criminal Appeals (see Rule 34(a)) or (b) no later than 30 days after a 
petition for grant of review is granted.
    The proposed changes to the first sentences of Rule 22(b)(1), (2), 
and (3) would read:
    (b)(1) Article 62, UCMJ, cases. A certificate for review of a 
decision by a Court of Criminal Appeals on appeal by the United States 
under Article 62, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. 862, shall be filed, together with a 
supporting brief in accordance with Rule 24, on behalf of the 
appellant, no later than 60 days after the date of the decision of the 
Court of Criminal Appeals.
    (2) Extraordinary relief cases. A certificate for review of a 
decision by a Court of Criminal Appeals on application for 
extraordinary relief filed therein shall be filed, together with a 
supporting brief in accordance with Rule 24, on behalf of the 
appellant, no later than 60 days after the date of the decision of the 
Court of Criminal Appeals.
    (3) Other cases. In all other cases involving a decision by a Court 
of Criminal Appeals, a certificate for review shall be filed either (a) 
no later than 60 days after the date of the decision of the Court of 
Criminal Appeals (see Rule 34(a)) or (b) no later than 30 days after a 
petition for grant of review is granted.
    Comment: Rules 19(b) and 22(b) currently allow 30 days for the 
filing of certificates for review by the Judge Advocate General, 
although a service member is given 60 days to file a petition for grant 
of review. Extension requests are filed in nearly all of the cases in 
which a certificate is to be filed, and the Rules Advisory Committee 
has determined that the 30 days allowed by this rule is insufficient 
time to obtain the necessary approvals and to file the certificate.
    This change to 60 days will not apply in those cases where the 
Court grants a petition for grant of review, and the government wishes 
to request the Judge Advocate General to file a certificate for review. 
In that event, the Judge Advocate General will continue to have 30 days 
from the date the petition is granted to file the certificate for 
review. The 30-day deadline in these cases should not be extended 
because it will slow the processing of the case by the Court, and it 
will be less onerous because the case is already before the Court, 
making it easier for the services to determine whether they wish to 
bring additional issues before the Court in those cases.
    The proposed change contained in the Federal Register Notice of 
January 23, 2012, omitted the words ``(see Rules 22 and 34(a))'' from 
the change to Rule

[[Page 23228]]

19(b). The error is corrected in this notice. Also, the January 23, 
2012, Notice did not include proposed changes to Rule 22(b), which 
contains the same filing deadlines for certificates for review that 
were in Rule 19(b). This notice provides the necessary proposed change 
to Rule 22(b) as well.

[FR Doc. 2012-9253 Filed 4-17-12; 8:45 am]
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