Judge Advocate General's Corps

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For other uses, see Judge Advocate General's Corps (disambiguation).

Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG, can refer to the judicial arm of any of the United States armed forces, consisting of autonomous departments in the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy. They are charged with the defense and prosecution of military law as provided in the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Officers of the Corps are the chief officers of the court-martial and court of inquiry. The Corps also provides service members with a wide range of legal services free of charge, and supports military combat operations by advising commanders on the law of armed conflict. Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Air Force officers maintain their "line officer" status, while Army and Navy officers only serve in legal billets.

1 Military law
2 Courts-martial
3 Appeals process
4 Other practice areas
5 Special training
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Military law

The Uniform Code of Military Justice, also known as UCMJ, is the primary legal code through which all internal military justice affairs of the United States are governed. It was created by an act of Congress in 1951 in order to establish identical systems of courts martial in all branches of the nation's armed forces. In addition to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, personnel are subject to the terms of the Constitution, other federal laws, and individual state laws where applicable (e.g., whenever the service member is in the United States, unless on a military base with exclusive federal jurisdiction).

[edit] Courts-martial

The forum through which judicial cases are tried in the nation's armed forces is the court-martial, the name given to a panel of military officers selected to serve similar capacities of a civilian jury. The Uniform Code of Military Justice outlines three distinct types of courts martial.

[edit] General court-martial

jurisdiction over crimes committed by any person, including civilians, covered by military law at the time the crime was committed
forum for most serious charges such as homicide, sexual assault, drug distribution, or desertion
officers detailed to the court are defense counsel, trial counsel (prosecutor) and military judge
court martial comprises five or more members, at least one third of whom are enlisted if requested by an enlisted accused
accused service member may request trial by judge alone in lieu of trial by a panel of members, except where the death penalty may be adjudged
maximum sentence that a General Court-Martial can impose is the maximum specified in the specific Article (crime) the Accused is convicted of, including death

[edit] Special court-martial

jurisdiction over crimes committed by any person, including civilians, covered by military law at the time the crime was committed
forum for intermediate offenses such as battery, assault, larceny (theft), minor drug-related offenses, unauthorized absence, disrespect, disobedience, and similar crimes.
officers detailed to the court are defense counsel, trial counsel (prosecutor) and military judge
court martial comprises three or more members, at least one third of whom are enlisted if requested by an enlisted accused
accused service member may request trial by judge alone in lieu of trial by a panel of members
regardless of what crime is charged at a Special Court-Martial, the maximum sentence that can be adjudged is 12 months confinement, forfeiture of two-thirds pay for 12 months, reduction in rank, bad conduct discharge, and a fine
a Special Court-Martial cannot confine or dismiss an officer

[edit] Summary court-martial

jurisdiction over crimes committed by enlisted personnel only
forum for minor offenses such as petty theft
court martial comprises a single officer, but a trial counsel and defense counsel are usually detailed
maximum sentence is one month confinement, forfeiture of two-thirds pay, reduction in rank to E-1
can be refused by the accused, in which case the matter is normally referred to a Special Court Martial

[edit] Appeals process

The Uniform Code of Military Justice provides for several tiers of appeal. All cases are reviewed by the commander convening the court (the convening authority) who, as a matter of command prerogative, may approve, disapprove, or modify the findings and/or sentence. He may not approve a finding of guilty for an offense of which the accused was acquitted nor increase the sentence adjudged. A convicted service member may submit a request for leniency to the convening authority prior to the convening authority's approval of the court-martial sentence.

Each military service and the Coast Guard has a Court of Criminal Appeals, which is composed of panels of three appellate military judges. These courts review all cases in which the approved sentence includes death, a punitive discharge, or confinement for at least a year, and all cases referred to it by the service Judge Advocate General. The court of criminal appeals "may affirm only such findings of guilty and the sentence or such part of the sentence, as it finds correct in law and fact and determines, on the basis of the entire record, should be approved. In considering the record, it may weigh the evidence, judge the credibility of witnesses, and determine controverted questions of fact, recognizing that the trial court saw and heard the witnesses." Article 66(c), UCMJ.

The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) consists of five civilian judges appointed by the President of the United States, with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate, to 15-year terms. The CAAF must review cases from all of the military services in which the court of criminal appeals has affirmed a death sentence, cases the Judge Advocates General order sent to the court, and cases appealed from the court of criminal appeals by the accused in which the CAAF finds good cause to grant the petition for review. Unlike the service courts of criminal appeals, the CAAF "shall take action only with respect to matters of law." Article 67(c), UCMJ. Decisions of the CAAF are "subject to review by the Supreme Court by writ of certiorari." Article 67a, UCMJ; this merely confirms Article III, Section 2 of the United States Constitution, granting the Supreme Court appellate jurisdiction in all US cases where it does not have original jurisdiction.

Cases not meeting the criteria for review by the service courts of criminal appeals are reviewed in the office of the service Judge Advocate General. Article 69, UCMJ. A death sentence "may not be executed until approved by the President. In such a case, the President may commute, remit, or suspend the sentence, or any part thereof, as he sees fit. That part of the sentence providing for death may not be suspended." Article 71(a), UCMJ.

Articles at

Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals
Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals
Army Court of Criminal Appeals
Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals

[edit] Other practice areas

Besides prosecuting, defending, and presiding over courts-martial, military attorneys advise commanders on issues involving a number of areas of law. Depending on the service, these areas may include the law of war, the rules of engagement and their interpretation, and other operational law issues, government contract law, administrative law, labor law, environmental law, international law, claims against the government (such as under the Federal Tort Claims Act), and information law (such as requests for information in the possession of the military under the Freedom of Information Act). Military attorneys also advise individual servicemembers, military retirees, and their families regarding personal civil legal problems they may have, including drafting wills and reviewing leases.

[edit] Special training

In addition to being licensed attorneys in any state or territory of the U.S., all military attorneys undergo specialized training to qualify as judge advocates, allowing them to act as trial or defense counsel at military courts-martial. Specialized training takes place at one of three military law centers:

U.S. Naval Justice School in Newport, Rhode Island.
U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's School in Charlottesville, Virginia.
U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General School at Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama.

Naval Justice School is the primary training center for Navy, Marine and Coast Guard JAG's. Most JAG officers will take additional classes at more than one of these facilities during their time in the JAG Corps.

The Army's JAG School is the only military law center that has full American Bar Association accreditation. Its graduate course, leading to a Master of Laws degree, is open to JAG officers from all service branches.