664
Opinion of the Court
Congress used similar language in establishing the Department of War, repeatedly referring to the Secretary of that department as a "principal officer," and the Chief Clerk, who would be "employed" within the Department as the Secretary "shall deem proper," as an "inferior officer." Ch. 7, 1 Stat. 49.
Supervision of the work of Court of Criminal Appeals judges is divided between the Judge Advocate General (who in the Coast Guard is subordinate to the Secretary of Transportation) and the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. The Judge Advocate General exercises administrative oversight over the Court of Criminal Appeals. He is charged with the responsibility to "prescribe uniform rules of procedure" for the court, and must "meet periodically [with other Judge Advocates General] to formulate policies and procedure in regard to review of court-martial cases." Art. 66(f), UCMJ, 10 U. S. C. § 866(f). It is conceded by the parties that the Judge Advocate General may also remove a Court of Criminal Appeals judge from his judicial assignment without cause. The power to remove officers, we have recognized, is a powerful tool for control. Bowsher v. Synar, 478 U. S. 714, 727 (1986); Myers v. United States, 272 U. S. 52 (1926).
The Judge Advocate General's control over Court of Criminal Appeals judges is, to be sure, not complete. He may not attempt to influence (by threat of removal or otherwise) the outcome of individual proceedings, Art. 37, UCMJ, 10 U. S. C. § 837, and has no power to reverse decisions of the court. This latter power does reside, however, in another Executive Branch entity, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.2 That court reviews every decision of the
2 Article 141 of the UCMJ, 10 U. S. C. § 941, states that the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces "is established under article I of the Constitution," and "is located for administrative purposes only in the Department of Defense." Although the statute does not specify the court's "location" for nonadministrative purposes, other provisions of the UCMJ make clear that it is within the Executive Branch. The court reviews the judg-
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