U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces

7/19/2023

NIMJ has filed an amicus pleading in United States v. Keago at CAAF.

Trial Counsel

7/20/2023 23:19:17

I've often struggled to understand why a military judge's ruling on an actual bias challenge receives more deference than an implied bias ruling does.

See, e.g. United States v. Napolean, 46 M.J. 279, 283 (C.A.A.F. 1997). "On the other hand, issues of implied bias are reviewed under a somewhat less deferential standard. While actual bias is reviewed through the eyes of the military judge or the court members, implied bias is reviewed under an objective standard, viewed through the eyes of the public."

It seems to me that a member harboring an implied bias is even *further* removed from being unfit than a member who evinces an obvious bias. In other words, the party claiming an implied bias has already accepted that the member is not actually biased.

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