Court-Martial

What is a Court-Martial?

A court martial is a military criminal trial. The purpose of a court martial is to determine whether a military member accused of committing a military crime is guilty.

If a defendant is convicted at a court martial, possible punishments include prison, loss of rank, forfeiture of pay, and a dishonorable discharge. In almost all cases, the prosecution will seek jail time and a discharge from the military. A court martial conviction is a federal criminal conviction and has lifelong consequences, including making it difficult to secure employment and housing. If convicted of a sexual crime, you may be required to register as a sex offender for life.

At both special courts-martial and general courts-martial, you can hire civilian defense counsel to represent you without forfeiting your right to have a military defense counsel assigned to represent you as well.

A general court-martial is a felony conviction which would prevent you from owning a firearm.

A court martial is very serious and it is extremely important to have an attorney who is experienced, dedicated, and aggressive in advocating for your rights. There are 3 types of courts martial and they each have different procedures and possible punishments.

What is a Summary Court-Martial?

A summary court-martial is akin to a formal NJP proceeding. There is no prosecutor and like an NJP, you must agree to it. The “judge” is generally not a lawyer. Any commissioned officer can perform a summary court-martial and the commissioned officer is usually O-3 or above. A summary court-martial is designed to adjudicate “minor offenses” like those at NJP. Only enlisted service members can be tried by summary court-martial. A summary court-martial cannot hear cases involving commissioned officers, or cadets or midshipmen at service academies.

A discharge is not possible at a summary court-martial; you cannot receive a bad-conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge. However, a summary court-martial may sentence you to confinement up to one month, hard labor without confinement for up to 45 days, restriction to specified limits for up to 2 months, and forfeiture of up to two-thirds of one month’s pay. Enlisted service members above the pay grade of E-4 may not be sentenced to confinement, hard labor without confinement, or reduction in pay grade beyond one pay grade.

You DO NOT have the right to a military defense counsel at a summary court-martial. However, you can be represented by civilian defense counsel as long as such representation will not unreasonably delay the proceedings.

What is a Special Court-Martial?

A military judge presides over a special court-martial. The Government is represented by a prosecutor or “trial counsel,” and you have the right to military defense counsel at no expense.

There are two types of special court-martial. The first is authorized by Article 16(c)(2)(a) which allows a special court-martial convening authority to refer charges to a special court-martial consisting of a military judge alone. Unlike when the charges are tried at a standard special court-martial, the service member cannot choose to be tried by a panel of military members instead of the military judge. Unlike with NJP or summary courts-martial, a service member cannot refuse trial in this new type.

This new type of special court-martial also limits the sentence that can be awarded. The military judge cannot award a sentence of more than six months confinement or more than six months forfeiture of pay, and cannot award a bad-conduct discharge. This type of court-martial is meant for handling lower-level cases, such as NJP-refusals, more quickly and without the need for a commander to provide members.

The second type of special court-martial is akin to a misdemeanor trial in the civilian sector. Unlike the judge alone special court-martial, you have the right to a jury trial in this type of special court-martial. Most commonly, a special court-martial will consist of a military judge, prosecutor (called “trial counsel”), defense counsel and a minimum of four officers sitting as a panel of court members (aka the “jury”). An enlisted accused may request a court composed of at least one-third enlisted members on the jury.

What is a General Court-Martial?

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A general court martial is the most serious proceeding in military court. It is akin to a felony trial in civilian court. Any punishment not prohibited by the UCMJ can be instilled, including dishonorable discharge or even the death penalty in very rare cases. 

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Because of the seriousness of this kind of proceeding, is very important to have a lawyer well-versed in the military justice system and civilian criminal defense. 

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To schedule a free, no obligation consultation with our lawyer, please get in touch with us today.

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