United States v. Leaver

Upon review of this case in 1991, this Court found error in the staff judge advocate’s failure to provide Appellant with a substitute counsel after trial, when Appellant discharged his detailed counsel for claimed ineffective trial representation. We affirmed the findings and sentence upon concluding that the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. U.S. v. Leaver, 32 M.J. 995 (C.G.C.M.R.1991).

On appeal, the U.S. Court of Military Appeals, relying on U.S. v. Moseley, 35 M.J. 481 (C.M.A.1992), chose not to apply the harmless error test after finding that the staff judge advocate’s action…