No. 25-617

Jakalien J. Cook v. United States

Lower Court: Armed Forces
Docketed: 2025-11-26
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Response Waived
Tags: court-martial due-process military-justice punishment-calculation sentencing-range uniform-code-military-justice
Key Terms:
DueProcess
Latest Conference: 2026-01-09
Question Presented (from Petition)

For almost all non-capital offenses from the timeframe of Petitioner's convictions, criminal defendants in courts-martial are sentenced in accordance with statutorily or presidentially prescribed ranges within the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), not with a set of sentencing guidelines. When a military judge incorrectly calculates the applicable confinement range, the sentence adjudicator, a panel of military members or the military judge, must adjudge a sentence within the resulting erroneous range. In the present case, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) affirmed the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals (AFCCA) and decided that an incorrect calculation of the applicable confinement range does not inherently undermine the fairness of the sentencing process. Therefore, the CAAF determined that the incorrect calculation does not implicate due process rights, and the issue can be waived at trial.

Whether a criminal defendant can waive a judge's incorrect maximum punishment calculation.

Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether a criminal defendant can waive a judge's incorrect maximum punishment calculation

Docket Entries

2026-01-12
Petition DENIED.
2025-12-16
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/9/2026.
2025-12-11
Waiver of right of respondent United States to respond filed.
2025-11-24
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due December 26, 2025)

Attorneys

Cook
John Michael FredericksUnited States Air Force, Petitioner
United States
D. John SauerSolicitor General, Respondent