Ryder v. United States, 515 U.S. 177, 10 (1995)

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186

RYDER v. UNITED STATES

Opinion of the Court

truth-finding function" in requiring a blanket exclusionary remedy for all violations, id., at 907, and the relative ineffectiveness of such remedy to deter future Fourth Amendment violations in particular cases, id., at 918-921. No similar collateral consequence arises from rectifying an Appointments Clause violation, and correcting Appointments Clause violations in cases such as this one provides a suitable incentive to make such challenges.

The Government finally suggests that the Court of Military Appeals applied something akin to a harmless-error doctrine in affirming petitioner's conviction, refusing to redress the violation because petitioner suffered no adverse consequences from the composition of the court. Brief for United States 33. The Government did not argue below that the error, assuming it occurred, was harmless, and there is no indication from the Court of Military Appeals' summary disposition of this issue that it determined that no harm occurred in this case. We therefore need not address whether the alleged defects in the composition of petitioner's appellate panel are susceptible to harmless-error review. The Government also argues, at least obliquely, that whatever defect there may have been in the proceedings before the Coast Guard Court of Military Review was in effect cured by the review available to petitioner in the Court of Military Appeals. Id., at 24, n. 16. Again, because of the hierarchical nature of sentence review in the system of military courts, we need not address whether this defect is susceptible to the cure envisioned by the Government.

Congress has established three tiers of military courts pursuant to its power "[t]o make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces." U. S. Const., Art. I, § 8, cl. 14. Cases such as the present one are tried before a general court-martial consisting of a military judge and not less than five service members or by a military judge alone. Art. 16(1), UCMJ, 10 U. S. C. § 816(1). Four Courts of Military Review (one each for the Army, Air Force, Coast

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