Court Opinion

ID: 9837036
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-02 03:16:05.564244+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:45:19.949892
License: Public Domain

EFFRON, Judge
(concurring):
I write separately to note that, in another context, an unsuspended bad-conduct discharge might be viewed as harsher than a suspended dishonorable discharge for purposes of enforcing a pretrial agreement. In the context of the present case, however, such an evaluation is not pertinent.
Unlike the usual pretrial agreement that sets forth a comprehensive cap on the maximum sentence that may be approved by the convening authority, the agreement in the present case was of a different nature. The plain language of the agreement addressed the action that the convening authority would take in the event that the sentence adjudged by the court-martial included a dishonorable discharge. Under the agreement, the convening authority would suspend the dishonorable discharge. As noted in the majority opinion, the particular circumstances of the case, including the colloquy in the record of trial, support the conclusion that the parties did not envision this provision as a cap on the type of discharge that could be adjudged or approved.