{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-35.326","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 35.326","heading":"Action by the convening authority.","body":"(1) The findings and sentence of a court -martial shall be reported promptly to the\nconvening authority after the announcement of the sentence.\n(2) (a) The accused may submit to the convening authority matters for consideration\nby the convening authority with r espect to the findings and the sentence. Any\nsuch submission shall be in writing. Such a submission shall be made within\nten (10) days after the accused has been given an authenticated record of trial\nand, if applicable, the recommendation of a judge advoc ate under subsection\n(4) of this section.\n(b) If the accused shows that additional time is required for the accused to submit\nsuch matters, the convening authority or other person taking action under this\nsection, for good cause, may extend the applicable period under paragraph (a)\nof this subsection for not more than an additional twenty (20) days.\n(c) The accused may waive the right to make a submission to the convening\nauthority under paragraph (a) of this subsection. A waiver must be made in\nwriting and may not be revoked. For the purposes of subsection (3)(b) of this\nsection, the time within which the accused may make a submission under this\nsubsection shall be deemed to have expired upon the submission of a waiver\nto the convening authority.\n(3) (a) The authority under this section to modify the findings and sentence of a\ncourt-martial is a matter of command prerogative involving the sole discretion\nof the convening authority. If it is impractical for the convening authority to\nact, the convening author ity shall forward the case to a person exercising\ngeneral court-martial jurisdiction who may take action under this section.\n(b) Action on the sentence of a court -martial shall be taken by the convening\nauthority or by another person authorized to act unde r this section. The action\nmay be taken only after consideration of any matters submitted by the accused\nunder subsection (2) of this section or after the time for submitting such\nmatters expires, whichever is earlier. The convening authority or other pers on\ntaking the action, in that person's sole discretion, may approve, disapprove,\ncommute, or suspend the sentence in whole or in part.\n(c) Action on the findings of a court -martial by the convening authority or other\nperson acting on a sentence is not requ ired. However, such person, in the\nperson's sole discretion, may:\n1. Dismiss any charge or specification by setting aside a finding of guilty\nthereto; or\n2. Change a finding of guilty to a charge or specification to a finding of\nguilty to any offense that is a lesser included offense of the offense\nstated in the charge or specification.\n(4) Before acting under this section on any general or special court -martial case in\nwhich there is a finding of guilty, the convening authority or other person taking\naction under this section shall obtain and consider the written recommendation of a\njudge advocate. The convening authority or other person taking action under this\nsection shall refer the record of trial to the judge advocate, and the judge advocate\nshall use that record in the preparation of the recommendation. The\nrecommendation of the judge advocate shall include such matters as may be\nprescribed by regulation and shall be served on the accused, who may submit any\nmatter in response under subsection (2) of t his section. Failure to object in the\nresponse to the recommendation or to any matter attached to the recommendation\nwaives the right to object thereto.\n(5) (a) The convening authority or other person taking action under this section, in\nthe person's sole discretion, may order a proceeding in revision or a rehearing.\n(b) A proceeding in revision may be ordered if there is an apparent error or\nomission in the record or if the record shows improper or inconsistent action\nby a court-martial with respect to the finding or sentence that can be rectified\nwithout material prejudice to the substantial rights of the accused. In no case,\nhowever, may a proceeding in revision:\n1. Reconsider a finding of not guilty of any specification or a ruling which\namounts to a finding of not guilty;\n2. Reconsider a finding of not guilty of any ch arge, unless there has been a\nfinding of guilty under a specification laid under that charge, which\nsufficiently alleges a violation of some section of this code; or\n3. Increase the severity of the sentence unless the sentence prescribed for\nthe offense is mandatory.\n(c) A rehearing may be ordered by the convening authority or other person taking\naction under this article if that person disapproves the findings and sentence\nand states the reasons for disapproval of the findings. If that person\ndisapproves t he findings and sentence and does not order a rehearing, that\nperson shall dismiss the charges. A rehearing as to the findings may not be\nordered where there is a lack of sufficient evidence in the record to support the\nfindings. A rehearing as to the sent ence may be ordered if the convening\nauthority or other person taking action under this subsection disapproves the\nsentence.","path":["KRS Chapter 35"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=41939","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:48:52Z","sha256":"0cae75dc94fd496ca1a19e469dc840378402e0a233dc2379f96d292975099038","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-35.325","next":"us-ky/krs-35.327"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}