(1)

(a) There is hereby established a Mississippi Court of Military Appeals, located for administrative purposes only in the Mississippi Military Department, State of Mississippi. The court shall consist of five (5) judges appointed by the Adjutant General upon the advice and recommendation of the State Judge Advocate for a term of six (6) years. Initial appointments to this court will be: one (1) judge for a term of two (2) years, two (2) judges for a term of four (4) years, and two (2) judges for a term of six (6) years. The term of office of all successor judges shall be for a six-year period of time, but any judge appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only for the unexpired term of his predecessor. The Adjutant General, upon the advice and recommendation of the State Judge Advocate, shall appoint the chief judge of this court. A person is eligible for appointment to this court who:

(i) Is a member of the bar of the Supreme Court of the State of Mississippi;

(ii) Is a member of a federal bar;

(iii) Is a commissioned officer of the state military forces, active or retired, or a retired commissioned officer in the reserves of the Armed Forces of the United States of America;

(iv) Has been engaged in the active practice of law for at least five (5) years;

(v) Has at least five (5) years’ experience as a staff judge advocate, judge advocate, or legal officer with the state military forces. The requirements in (iv) and (v) of this subsection may be satisfied by equivalent experience or practice in the Armed Forces of the United States.

(b) The court may promulgate its own rules of procedure, provided, however, that a majority of the five (5) judges shall constitute a quorum and the concurrence of a majority of the judges acting on a given case shall be necessary to a decision of the court.

(c) Judges of the Mississippi Court of Military Appeals may be removed by the Adjutant General upon notice and hearing for neglect of duty and malfeasance in office, or for mental or physical disability.

(d) If a judge of the Mississippi Court of Military Appeals is temporarily unable to perform his duties the Adjutant General upon the advice and recommendation of the State Judge Advocate may designate a military judge, as defined in this code, to fill the office for the period of disability.

(e) The judges of the Mississippi Court of Military Appeals, while actually sitting in review of a matter placed under their jurisdiction by the code, and while traveling to and from such sessions, shall be paid compensation equal to that compensation as prescribed for the judges of the circuit courts of the State of Mississippi, to include both salary and travel expenses.

(2) The Mississippi Court of Military Appeals shall have appellate jurisdiction, upon petition of an accused, to hear and review the record in:

(a) All general and special court-martial cases; and

(b) All other cases where a judge of this court has made a determination that there may be a constitutional issue involved.

(3) The accused has sixty (60) calendar days from the time of receipt of actual notice of the final action on his case, under this code, to petition the Mississippi Court of Military Appeals for review, said petition to set forth all errors assigned. The court shall act upon such a petition within sixty (60) calendar days of the receipt thereof. In the event the court fails or refuses to grant such petition for review the final action of the convening authority will be deemed to have been approved; notwithstanding any other provision of this code, upon the court granting a hearing of an appeal, the court may grant a stay or defer service of the sentence of confinement or any other punishment under this code until the court’s final decision upon the case.

(4) In a case reviewable under subsection (2)(a) of this section the Mississippi Court of Military Appeals may act only with respect to the findings and sentence as finally approved and ordered executed by the convening authority. In a case reviewable under subsection (2)(b) of this section this court need take action only with respect to matters of law, and the action of this court is final.

(5) If the Mississippi Court of Military Appeals sets aside the findings and sentence, it may, except where the setting aside is based on lack of sufficient evidence in the record to support the findings, order a rehearing. If it sets aside the findings and sentence and does not order a rehearing, it shall order that the charges be dismissed. After the Mississippi Court of Military Appeals has acted on the case, the record shall be returned to the State Judge Advocate who shall notify the convening authority of the court’s decision. If further action is required the State Judge Advocate shall instruct the convening authority to take action in accordance with that decision. If the court has ordered a rehearing, but the convening authority finds a rehearing impracticable, he may dismiss the charges.