NMCCA has had a “disparity” week.
United States v. Ochoa, is a case addressing a not infrequent issue, sentence/disposition “disparity” between co-accuseds.
[A]ppellant’s claim does raise the issue of differences in initial disposition of co-accused, an issue that
can be viewed by this court in determining sentence appropriateness under Article 66(c), Uniform Code of Military Justice. Noble, 50 M.J. at 295. We find the nonjudicial disposition of LCpl Lopez’s and LCpl Ortega’s charges to be closely related to the appellant’s case. Both of these Marines were directly involved in some of the frauds for which the appellant was sentenced. When cases are closely related, yet result in widely disparate dispositions, we must decide whether the disparity results from good and cogent reasons. United States v. Kelly, 40 M.J. 558, 570 (N.M.C.M.R. 1994).
Keep in mind that it’s not an issue for the trial court, but certainly one can be raised in post-trial 1105’s. See Slip op. at 2.
Contrast with United States v. Williams, and United States v. Leininger, co-conspirator cases.