Army Court of Criminal Appeals--Heng

In Heng, the Appellant pled guilty to two domestice violence assaults and abuse of an animal. He was sentenced to "14" months, RiR, and a BCD.

At trial, the defense, accused, trial counsel, and MJ agreed the max per assault was two years. On appeal the argument is that the max is six months. The President had not issued the maximum punishments for the assault offenses so all relied on R.C.M. 1003(c)(3)(B) to find the closely related offense of assault on a spouse. Delving into the choronology of the statutory changes and Congressional intent, the court concludes that the parties at trial were right.