The Court of Appeals of the Armed Forces (CAAF) will hear the case of Army 1st Lt. Michael Behenna, now serving 15 years at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in the death of an al-Qaida operative in Iraq.
The CAAF, which hears only a handful of the cases it is asked to review, gave Behenna’s defense attorney 30 days to file his brief; the military prosecutors have 30 days after that. Then the case will be heard.
Behenna’s case has drawn national attention. His defense team alleges prosecutorial misconduct on the part of Judge Advocate General attorneys, who failed to disclose information favorable to Behenna during his court martial.
Behenna, the son of retired OSBI agent Scott Behenna (now an FBI analyst) and federal prosecutor Vicki Behenna, was a platoon leader in Iraq with the 101st Airborne.
The CAAF exercises worldwide appellate jurisdiction over members of the armed forces on active duty and other persons subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The Court is composed of five civilian judges appointed for 15-year terms by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.
Cases on the Court’s docket address a broad range of legal issues, including constitutional law, criminal law, evidence, criminal procedure, ethics, administrative law, and national security law. Decisions by the Court are subject to direct review by the Supreme Court of the United States.
