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Press Release
June 11, 2009
Contact: Aaron Hunter 202-225-2040
Hearing Held on Rep. Susan Davis’s Bill to Allow All Service Members Access to the Supreme Court
WASHINGTON – The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy heard testimony on legislation sponsored by Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA) to allow all service members with cases pending in the military judicial system access to the Supreme Court.
Subcommittee Chairman Henry Johnson (D-GA) convened a hearing on the Equal Justice for our Military Act (H.R. 569) and heard testimony from Rep. Davis, retired Major General John D. Altenburg, a former Deputy Judge Advocate General, and attorney Dwight H. Sullivan.
“It is unjust to deny members of our Armed Forces access to our system of justice as they fight to preserve this very system,” Davis testified before the subcommittee. “Under current law, members of the military who are convicted of offenses under the military justice system do not have the legal right to appeal their cases to the U.S. Supreme Court.”
The Equal Justice for Our Military Act (H.R. 569) would eliminate a troubling disparity in current law by allowing court-martialed service members whose cases involve extraordinary circumstances to appeal for Supreme Court review. In contrast, the government currently has the right to appeal for Supreme Court review in every one of these cases.
Last year, the House of Representative approved the Equal Justice for Our Military Act in the closing days of the 110th Congress. The Senate Judiciary Committee has unanimously approved companion legislation introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein.
“I want to thank Chairman Johnson and the committee for holding the hearing,” said Davis, who is Chairwoman of the Military Personnel Subcommittee. “I look forward to working with the committee on behalf of our nation’s service members.”
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