OCTOBER TERM, 1996
Syllabus
certiorari to the united states court of appeals for the armed forces
No. 96-262. Argued February 24, 1997—Decided May 19, 1997*
The Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals (formerly the Coast Guard
Court of Military Review) hears appeals from the decisions of courts-martial, and its decisions are subject to review by the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. Under Article 66(a) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), its judges may be commissioned officers or civilians. During the times here relevant, the court had two civilian members, both of whom were originally assigned to the court by the General Counsel of the Department of Transportation. In anticipation of the possible invalidation of these assignments under the Appointments Clause, Art. II, § 2, cl. 2, the Secretary of Transportation issued a memorandum "adopting" the General Counsel's earlier judicial assignments as appointments of his own. In Ryder v. United States, 515 U. S. 177, this Court overturned a conviction that had been affirmed, before the secretarial appointments, by a Coast Guard Court of Military Review panel that included both civilian members, as it was conceded that the judges had not been validly appointed pursuant to the Appointments Clause. The present case concerns the validity of six convictions that were affirmed by the Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals (or its predecessor), with one or both civilian judges participating, after the secretarial appointments. The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces affirmed the convictions, relying on its holding on remand in Ryder that the Secretary's appointments were valid and cured the defect that had previously existed.
Held: The judicial appointments at issue are valid. Pp. 655-666. (a) Congress has authorized the Secretary to appoint civilian members of the Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals. Petitioners' argument that those appointments are invalid because the Secretary lacks the power under 49 U. S. C. § 323(a) to appoint Coast Guard judges is rejected. Although § 323(a) does not specifically mention such judges, its plain language authorizes the Secretary to "appoint and fix the pay of officers and employees of the Department." This Court rejects peti-*Together with Lazenby v. United States; Leaver v. United States; Leonard v. United States; Nichols v. United States; and Venable v. United States, also on certiorari to the same court (see this Court's Rule 12.4).
651
Page: Index 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007