Appeal rights bill may die in Senate

[unhappycamper]

Appeal rights bill may die in Senate
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Sep 29, 2008 11:24:03 EDT

The fate of a bill allowing any service member convicted by court-martial to appeal all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court now rests with the Senate, where even one senator could block final passage of a measure that has been debated since 2006.

Rep. Susan Davis, D-Calif., the chief sponsor of HR 3174, the Equal Justice for Our Military Act, said the measure passed Saturday by the House on a voice vote fixes an inequity that limits the cases service members can appeal in the military justice system to the Supreme Court.

Davis said this is especially unfair because the government has the right to appeal every military court-martial to the nation’s highest court to uphold a conviction if it is reversed by a lower court.

A similar bill, sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, is pending in the Senate. Feinstein’s bill, S 2052, was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 12 without an up-or-down vote, an action that falls far short of a full endorsement but leaves the bill available for consideration by the full Senate.

Senate consideration of either the House-passed bill or Feinstein’s measure would require unanimous consent of all 100 senators in order for it to be considered so late in the legislative session.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/military_courtmartial_appeal_092908w/%2e

[Democat]

1. Don't know the full details of the bill

But it sounds like an ok idea just from the article. If the military can appeal all the way up to the Supreme Court, then why shouldn't soldiers have that same right?