United States v. Greenwell

Opinion of the Court

Ferguson, Judge:

The basic issue in this case, as in United States v Ortiz, 15 USCMA 505, 36 CMR 3 (1965), rehearing denied, 16 USCMA 127, 36 CMR 283 (1966), is whether the convening authority was authorized to appoint the special court-martial which tried the accused. If not, the proceedings were a nullity. United States v Ortiz, supra.

Authority to convene a special court-martial is specifically delineated in Article 23, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 USC § 823,1 the pertinent portions of which provide:

*461“(a) Special courts-martial maybe convened by—(7) the commanding…