1 The U.S. Oral Courts-Martial System. 2 General Principles of U.S. Military Justice Military...
-
Upload
derek-chapman -
Category
Documents
-
view
215 -
download
0
Transcript of 1 The U.S. Oral Courts-Martial System. 2 General Principles of U.S. Military Justice Military...
2
General Principles of U.S. Military Justice• Military personnel are given responsibilities and
trust beyond the norm. Good order and discipline is vital to maintain efficiency.
• Criminal behavior undermines unit cohesion, lowers effectiveness, degrades unit morale
• As Citizens, servicemembers always retain their right to a fair oral trial
• Civilian oversight of military courts
3
Legal Structure of the U.S. Court-Martial System - STATUTORY
• U.S. Constitution
• Congress has responsibility to regulate the Armed Forces
• Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ)– Congressionally Enacted– Comprehensive Code– Disciplinary and Criminal
Behavior
4
Legal Structure of the U.S. Courts-Martial System - REGULATORY
• President is Commander-in-Chief
• President makes rules and regulations for Courts-Martial (Executive Orders)
• Rules for Court-Martial (RCM)• Military Rules of Evidence (MRE)
– Closely match Federal rules of evidence
• Manual for Courts-Martial (MCM)
• President establishes the maximum punishment for each offense
5
The Convening Authority• Commanders with authority to ‘convene’
a Court-Martial are referred to as a Convening Authority (CA)
• The CA decides what to do in each case– dismissing the allegations;– forwarding to superior commander;– imposing non-punitive measures;– imposing nonjudicial punishment; – convening a court-martial.
6
Unlawful Command Influence PROHIBITED. . .
• Members of the Command may not:
– Attempt to control courts-martial
– Attempt to influence testimony
– Assign biased members
– Punish court members for their judicial actions
– Intimidate or interfere with the military judge or defense counsel
7
PREVENTING UNLAWFUL COMMAND INFLUENCE
• Judge, Prosecutor, Defense are not in same chain of command
• Superior Commander may intervene• Training in Military Justice• Remedies
– Cases can be dismissed
– Commander can be punished
– Acts of undue influence are subject to disciplinary measures
8
Jurisdiction• Personal: Worldwide application
• Subject matter: Disciplinary infractions, military-specific offenses, typical criminal offenses.
• Concurrent jurisdiction
with civilian courts– State
– Foreign
9
Types of Court-Martial• Summary Court-Martial (Prompt Adjudication of Minor Offenses)
• Special Court-Martial (Full Oral Trial)
• Military judge• Trial counsel• Defense counsel• Minimum of three members • 1 year maximum confinement
• General Court-Martial (Full Oral Trial)
• Same participants• Minimum of five members• May impose maximum punishment authorized for an offense
10
Court-Martial Due Process
• Accused is entitled to free legal representation by a military lawyer
(except Summary Court-Martial)
• Government must bring case to trial within 120 days of formal charges or pre-trial confinement
• Pre-trial confinement is permitted if justified by certain evidence
• Decision to impose such confinement is automatically reviewed
11
The Path to a Court-Martial• Allegation and Investigation• Convening Authority Review• Official charging - ‘Preferral’• Forwarding of charges to court - ‘Referral’• Convening the Court
– Additional steps to send charges to a General Court-Martial
• Oral Trial • Sentencing• Appellate Process
12
The Path to a Court-Martial• Allegation and Investigation
– Every allegation must be investigated at the appropriate level:
• Preliminary Inquiry – Done within the command
• Criminal Investigation – Done by professionals
13
The Path to a Court-Martial
• Convening Authority Review
– Convening Authority seeks advice of his military lawyer or;
– Convening Authority decides to forward case to higher commander;
14
The Path to a Court-Martial• Official charging - ‘Preferral’
– Convening authority officially requests legal services
– Servicemember with personal or investigative knowledge of case swears that charges are warranted
– Servicemember is notified– Charges are sent to unit for Convening
Authority Decision
15
The Path to a Court-Martial• Forwarding of charges to court -
‘Referral’
– Convening authority reviews preferred charges and decides to send them to a Special Court- Martial….or,
– Convening authority sends case to an Article 32 investigation, after which they can ‘refer’ charges to a General Court-Martial
16
The Path to a Court-Martial• Oral Trial
– The keystone of an accusatorial system– All evidence evaluated ‘live’ before a fact-
finder– Trial Advocacy skills crucial for proper
presentation of case – Procedures of trial have due process built-in
17
The Path to a Court-Martial• Sentencing
– ALWAYS an adversarial proceeding – Judge or Jury consider aggravating,
mitigating, and extenuating evidence– Decide on punishment even in case of a
guilty plea and/or plea bargain
18
The Path to a Court-Martial• Appellate Process
– Initial review by convening authority
– Each branch has a court of appeals - Automatic appeal in any case where punishment includes 90 days of confinement or Bad Conduct Discharge
– Appellate defense counsel assigned for each accused
– The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) can review any decision of the lower courts
– Final review authority rests with the U.S. Supreme Court if they grant review
19
U.S. Oral Court Martial System
• Accountable to Civilian Authority
• Same accusatorial model as Civilian courts
• Due Process is incoporated into procedure by law and legal precedent
• Rights of appeal included