Cossio v. Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals

In an appeal involving a “rare” collateral challenge to a military court conviction in the civilian court, plaintiff sought reconsideration of his bad-conduct discharge from the Air Force resulting from a court-martial conviction for larceny and for violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Plaintiff argued that his conduct did not meet the required elements of the causes of action but the district court disagreed and, consistent with other courts’ treatment of plaintiff’s post-appeal challenges, granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, finding that the district court properly determined that the plaintiff did not meet the requirements for habeas corpus jurisdiction because he was not “in custody” as it required by federal law. (ROVNER and KIRSCH, concurring)