A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled on Tuesday that a district court judge lacked the authority to overturn the conviction and sentence handed down by a military court in the case of former U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl in 2023.
Previously, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, sitting in Washington, D.C., ruled in 2023 that Bergdahl's conviction violated his Fifth Amendment rights due to a potential conflict of interest involving military judge Jeffrey Nance, who had failed to disclose his application for an immigration judge position with the U.S. Department of Justice.
However, the appeals panel concluded that only appellate courts within the military justice system have jurisdiction to set aside a court-martial ruling; a district court conducts only collateral review and cannot intervene directly.
Judge Robert Wilkins, writing for the panel, explained, “Because Bergdahl seeks a declaration that his conviction is void and invalid due to constitutional and military regulation violations, and seeks to reverse its consequences, he is essentially asking the District Court to vacate the military court's decision. However, the authority to vacate a court-martial conviction rests with courts exercising direct appellate review, not with district courts conducting collateral review.”
Bergdahl, then 23, from Hailey, Idaho, was stationed in Paktika province in eastern Afghanistan in June 2009 when he left his post without authorization. His defense team said he walked off to reach a command post and complain about poor leadership in his unit.
Bergdahl was captured by the Haqqani network, a Taliban-affiliated group, and was tortured repeatedly before being released in 2014 in a prisoner exchange deal brokered during the Obama administration. That deal—which freed five Taliban detainees from Guantanamo Bay—drew harsh criticism from conservatives, including Donald Trump, who was elected president two years later.
During his 2015 campaign, Trump called for the death penalty for Bergdahl and described the decision not to imprison him as a “disgrace” to the country.
Several U.S. service members were wounded during the search for Bergdahl, who was later charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. He pleaded guilty in 2017 and was dishonorably discharged. Military prosecutors had sought a 14-year prison sentence.
