{"data":{"id":"us-co/c.r.s.-28-3.1-407","jurisdiction":"us-co","citation":"C.R.S. § 28-3.1-407","heading":"Initial action on the record by convening authority - staff judge advocate review.","body":"(1) After a trial by court-martial, the military judge who presided over the court-martial shall forward the record of the court-martial to the convening authority. Upon receipt of the record of the court-martial, the convening authority shall forward the record to the staff judge advocate designated by the state judge advocate general.\n\n(2) The staff judge advocate shall review the record and submit a written opinion to the convening authority. The staff judge advocate's opinion must include:\n\n(a) Conclusions about whether:\n\n(I) The court-martial had jurisdiction over the accused;\n\n(II) The charge and specification stated an offense; and\n\n(III) The sentence was within the limits prescribed as a matter of law;\n\n(b) If the accused makes allegations in writing, a response to each allegation of error made in writing by the accused; and\n\n(c) In an opinion about the findings of a summary court-martial, advice to the convening authority on the sufficiency of the evidence as to each finding made by the summary court-martial.\n\n(3) A convening authority shall not act on the findings of or sentence imposed by a court-martial before the staff judge advocate review.\n\n(4) (a) After receiving the staff judge advocate's written opinion described in subsection (2) of this section, the convening authority of a general court-martial or a special court-martial:\n\n(I) Shall not act on the findings of the court-martial; and\n\n(II) May act as described in subsection (4)(b) of this section on the sentence of the court-martial if:\n\n(A) The total period of a sentence to confinement imposed for all offenses involved, running consecutively, is less than one hundred eighty days; and\n\n(B) The court-martial did not impose a sentence of dismissal or dishonorable discharge.\n\n(b) A convening authority acting on a sentence imposed by a court-martial pursuant to subsection (4)(a)(II) of this section may:\n\n(I) Approve the court-martial's sentence;\n\n(II) Disapprove, commute, or suspend the court-martial's sentence, in whole or in part; or\n\n(III) Disapprove the court-martial's sentence and order a rehearing on the sentence.\n\n(c) After appropriate staff judge advocate review, the convening authority of a summary court-martial may:\n\n(I) Approve the court-martial's findings and sentence;\n\n(II) Dismiss any charge or specification by setting aside the finding of guilty;\n\n(III) Change the court-martial's finding of guilty of the charge or specification to a finding of guilty of a lesser included offense;\n\n(IV) Disapprove the court-martial's findings and sentence and dismiss the charge and specification;\n\n(V) Disapprove the court-martial's findings and sentence and order a rehearing on the findings and sentence;\n\n(VI) Disapprove, commute, or suspend the court-martial's sentence, in whole or in part; or\n\n(VII) Disapprove the court-martial's sentence and order a rehearing as to the sentence.\n\n(5) If, pursuant to this section, the convening authority reduces, commutes, or suspends the sentence, the decision of the convening authority must include a written explanation of the reasons for the action.\n\n(6) The convening authority shall forward its final decision to the military judge who presided over the court-martial and provide copies of the decision to the accused and to any victim of the offense. The military judge shall incorporate the convening authority's final decision into the record.","path":["Title 28 - MILITARY AND VETERANS","Article 3.1 - Colorado Code of Military Justice","Part 4 - SENTENCES"],"source_url":"https://olls.info/crs/crs2026-title-28.htm","current_through":"Colorado Revised Statutes 2026","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:37:45Z","sha256":"e0f3e75ad1f22fe26e40663a9e3be715f51922a4c484826da0e2f76ef5bb8b88","source_id":"us-co","stale":false,"prev":"us-co/c.r.s.-28-3.1-406","next":"us-co/c.r.s.-28-3.1-408"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}