Courts of Criminal Appeals

Coast Guard

United States v. Nenni. It took 200 days from sentencing to CCA docketing. Compare this case to Raines, below, which took 241 days.

The Government offers three affidavits and a detailed chronology and explanation of the reasons for the delay. It concedes that some of the delay is attributable to mistakes made while obtaining a verbatim transcript and compiling the record. This led to the military judge not receiving the record for review and verification until 164 days from trial, already 14 days beyond the Tucker standard. This included unnecessary delay, most notably 62 days from sentencing to getting a contract approved and transmitted so that work on a transcript could finally begin.

As the Government also points out, however, when the military judge received the record, both she and the court reporter responsible for compiling the record were in the midst of a complex, 29-day contested court-martial. The military judge nevertheless worked diligently with the court reporter to identify and correct errors, eventually verifying a complete record 198 days after trial.

Given all the circumstances, we do not view the delay as onerous. The record includes a 1,684-page transcript, with sealed portions, and a total of 184 exhibits, some of which are sealed. Post-trial processing must balance quality and attention to detail with speediness. Although there were, undoubtedly, missteps that slowed the process, we acknowledge the efforts of the military judge, court reporter, and other Government personnel to identify and address errors to ensure delivery of a complete, quality record to this Court.

Navy-Marine Corps

United States v. Raines. "​Our decision should not be read as an endorsement of the post-trial processing of this case."

To illustrate this point, we note that “in late 1860, the short-lived but nationally famous Pony Express hit full stride.” Using relays of horses stationed twenty-five miles apart, a package could travel from Saint Joseph, Missouri to San Francisco, California in just eight days. While we will not require posttrial processing to move at the speed of the precursor to the telegraph, the Government must do better than it did here.