123STA T . 2 59 9 PUBLIC LA W 111 –84—O CT. 28 , 2 0 09 ‘ ‘ §950a.Er r o ro fl a w; l es ser inc l ud ed offense ‘ ‘ (a)ER R O RO FLAW.—Afind in gorse n t en c eofa m i l itar y commission u nder t h is cha p ter may not b e held incorrect on the ground of an error of la w unless the error materially pre j udices the substantial rights of the accused. ‘‘(b) L ES SER INCLUD ED O FFENSE.—Any re v iewing authority with the power to approve or affirm a finding of guilty by a military commission under this chapter may approve or affirm , instead, so much of the finding as includes a lesser included offense. ‘‘§ 950 b . R e v iew b yth e convenin g authority ‘‘(a) N O TI CE TO C ON V ENIN G AUT H ORIT Y OF F INDINGS AND S EN - TENCE.— T he findings and sentence of a military commission under this chapter shall be reported in writing promptly to the convening authority after the announcement of the sentence. ‘‘(b) SU BM ITTAL OF M ATTERS BY ACCUSED TO CONVENING AUTHORITY.—( 1 ) The accused may submit to the convening authority matters for consideration by the convening authority with respect to the findings and the sentence of the military commission under this chapter. ‘‘( 2 )(A) E x cept as provided in subparagraph ( B ), a submittal under paragraph (1) shall be made in writing within 2 0 days after the accused has been give an authenticated record of trial under section 94 9o(c) of this title. ‘‘(B) If the accused shows that additional time is re q uired for the accused to ma k e a submittal under paragraph (1), the convening authority may, for good cause, extend the applicable period under subparagraph (A) for not more than an additional 20 days. ‘‘( 3 ) The accused may waive the accused ’ s right to make a submittal to the convening authority under paragraph (1). Such a waiver shall be made in writing, and may not be revoked. For the purposes of subsection (c)(2), the time within which the accused may make a submittal under this subsection shall be deemed to have expired upon the submittal of a waiver under this paragraph to the convening authority. ‘‘(c) ACTION BY CONVENING AUTHORITY.—(1) The authority under this subsection to modify the findings and sentence of a military commission under this chapter is a matter of the sole discretion and prerogative of the convening authority. ‘‘(2) The convening authority is not required to take action on the findings of a military commission under this chapter. If the convening authority takes action on the findings, the convening authority may, in the sole discretion of the convening authority, only— ‘‘(A) dismiss any charge or specification by setting aside a finding of guilty thereto
or ‘‘(B) change a finding of guilty to a charge to a finding of guilty to an offense that is a lesser included offense of the offense stated in the charge. ‘‘(3)(A) The convening authority shall take action on the sen- tence of a military commission under this chapter. ‘‘(B) Subject to regulations prescribed by the Secretary of D efense, action under this paragraph may be taken only after consideration of any matters submitted by the accused under sub- section (b) or after the time for submitting such matters expires, whichever is earlier. Regulations.D ea d line. Re p o r ts.
