military law

Issues

This case asks the Supreme Court to determine if any civilian employee who is called to active military duty during a national emergency is entitled to differential pay—compensation for the difference between their civilian pay and military pay—under 5 U.S.C. § 5538(a). Feliciano contends that all civilian employees called to duty during a national emergency should receive differential pay. The Department of Transportation (“DOT”) counters that 5 U.S.C. § 5538(a) requires the civilian employee’s work to be related to a contingency operation rather than merely coinciding temporally with the national emergency to qualify for differential pay. The outcome of this case has profound implications for the United States military’s effectiveness and financial security of military reservists.

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Steven A. Levin sued his military doctor and the United States for medical malpractice and medical battery for a procedure performed at the United States Naval Hospital in Guam. The United States substituted itself for the military doctor and claimed that they had sovereign immunity which barred the claim under the Gonzalez Act. Levin argues that the Gonzalez Act only removes liability from armed services medical personnel and does not create an immunity that would remove any possibility for recovery in medical battery suits against armed forces medical personnel. The United States contends that no waiver of sovereign immunity exists unless a statute’s explicit language creates a waiver. The lower courts dismissed Levin's case by stating that the United States' sovereign immunity did apply under the Gonzalez Act, therefore barring this case from continuing. Levin contends that to bar his claim because of sovereign immunity would be to prevent patients injured by military medical personnel from having an opportunity to recover for the pain and suffering caused by the medical mistake. The United States argues that to find an implied waiver of sovereign immunity in the Gonzalez Act would overturn the Supreme Court's long-standing precedent regarding waivers of sovereign immunity and create questions about when sovereign immunity is waived. 

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Jacob Denedo, a member of the Navy and a permanent resident of the United States, faced various criminal charges in a court-martial proceeding. Denedo pled guilty and, as part of his sentence, was discharged from the Navy. The U.S. Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Denedo's sentence, and Denedo did not seek any further review. Six years later, the government began deportation proceedings against Denedo based on his court-martial conviction. In response, Denedo petitioned for a writ of error coram nobis with the Court of Criminal Appeals. Denedo claimed ineffective assistance of counsel based on his counsel's alleged advice that he would not face deportation if he pled guilty. The Court of Criminal Appeals considered Denedo's petition under the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651(a). The Court of Criminal Appeals denied Denedo's petition on the merits. On appeal, the United State Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces considered and accepted Denedo's writ. The United States appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming that the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces lacked subject matter jurisdiction to consider Denedo's writ, reasoning a collateral attack on Denedo's court-martial conviction is precluded by the Uniform Code of Military Justice ("UCMJ") Article 73¸UCMJ 10 U.S.C. § 873, and Article 76, 10 U.S.C. § 876. The Supreme Court's holding in this case will decide whether military courts of appeal have subject matter jurisdiction to consider extraordinary requests for relief under the All Writs Act, or whether they must strictly follow procedures in the UCMJ.

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