United States v. Moseley

I concur with Part I of the principal opinion and dissent from Part II.

Contrary to precedent, the majority applies an automatic reversal rule where there is a failure to serve the staff judge advocate’s (SJA) recommendation on defense counsel as required by RCM 1106(f)(1), Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, 1984. The Court should not automatically set aside an opinion below unless an error materially prejudices the substantial rights of the accused. Art. 59(a), Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 USC § 859(a). In United States v. De-Grocco, 23 MJ 146 (CMA 1987), this Court *486applied the…