Hubbard v. United States

Another way servicemembers convicted at court-martial receive less than their civilian counterparts convicted in state or federal court, whom they signed up to defend?

Hubbard is an Innocence Project Act (18 U.S. Code sec. 3600) case brought by a military prisoner.
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The panel affirmed the district court’s dismissal for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction of a petition brought by U.S. Army Private Clifford Hubbard seeking DNA testing under the Innocence Protection Act (“IPA”).

In 1982, a court-martial convicted Hubbard of murder and sentenced him to life in prison. He sought DNA testing under the IPA to prove his innocence.

The panel held that the district court lacked jurisdiction because the district court was not the court that entered the judgment of conviction. Rather, Hubbard’s conviction was entered by a general court-martial, which has since dissolved, not in federal court. The panel rejected Hubbard’s contention that the district court had the power to grant his petition for DNA testing under the IPA.

​The panel also rejected Hubbard’s contention that the IPA should nonetheless be construed to allow him to petition for DNA testing in the district court because he would otherwise have no forum in which to seek his relief. The panel held that the IPA, unlike the federal habeas statutes, does not provide a procedural mechanism for prisoners convicted by courts-martial to seek collateral relief in federal court.

Add this to Congress's to-do list along with unanimous verdicts and direct access to the Supreme Court?

Cheers, Phil Cave

From the NewspeakNewsBureau and a hat-tip to GMJR.