William J. Haynes II

“ The Department of Defense does not keep aggregate statistics of the number of appeals requested, but the United States Court of Appeals of the Armed Forces (USCAAF) annually publishes the Military Justice Reporter statistics regarding its appellate court activities. As requested, enclosed are USCAAF statistics for the past five fiscal years regarding petitions for grant of review filed and cases in which writ petitions and writ appeals were filed. ”

“ Appellants, with nothing further to lose, might file mutiple USCAAF writ petitions/appeals in the hope of eventually obtaining Supreme Court review. Additionally, many of these extraordinary writs are interlocutory in nature and brought during the trial of an active court-martial. Because adding an additional level of appeal during an active court-martial will necessitate an addtional period of delay, the potential exists for introducing truly excessive delay into the resolution of cases tried by courts-martial. ”

“ Your letter requested analysis of the relative merits of the legislation and asked for the Department's analysis of the number of appeals that would have been eligible for a petition of certiorari if the proposal had been enacted and in force each of the last five fiscal years that ended September 30, 2005. ”