United States v. Prater

I dissent.

The accused was convicted by general court-martial convened in Vietnam, on January 25, 1969, and sentenced, in addition to other penalties, to confinement at hard labor for one year. He was released from confinement on October 31, 1969. However, the convening authority did not act on the eighty-two page record of trial until November 3, 1969, three days thereafter. No explanation for the delay of more than nine months is contained in the post-trial review (cf. United States v Bennie, 10 USCMA 159, 27 CMR 233 (1959)) or in the general court-martial order publishing the convening…