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Types of Courts-Martial
I. Summary Court-Martial
A summary court-martial has jurisdiction
over all personnel, except commissioned officers, warrant officers,
cadets, aviation cadets, and midshipmen, charged with a UCMJ offense
referred to it by the convening authority.
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Composed of one commissioned officer on
active duty, usually pay-grade O-3 or above.
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Accused member is not entitled to be
represented by a military attorney, but may hire a civilian lawyer
at his or her own expense. In rare cases, military exigencies may
preclude the reasonable availability of civilian counsel. In the Air
Force, as a matter of policy, all accused at a summary-court martial are
afforded representation by military counsel.
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Accused member may object to trial by
summary court-martial, in which case the charges are returned to the
convening authority for further action (e.g., disposition other than by
court martial or action to send the charges to a special or general court
martial).
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The maximum punishment a summary court-martial may award is: confinement for 30 days, forfeiture of two-thirds
pay for one month, and reduction to the lowest pay grade (E-1).
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In the case where the accused is above the
fourth enlisted pay grade (E-4), a summary court-martial may not adjudge
confinement, hard labor without confinement, or reduction except to the
next lower pay grade.
II. Special Court-Martial
If you are charged with an offence and your
case is going to be sent to a special court-martial, the maximum
punishment you can receive is:
▪ Reduction
to pay grade E-1
▪ Forfeiture of 2/3 of your base pay
per month for 12 months
▪ Confinement for 12 months
▪ Discharge from the service with a
Bad Conduct Discharge
You will also have the following rights at a
Special court-martial:
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To be represented by a detailed military
defense counsel at no expense to you. In addition to, or instead of,
your detailed defense counsel, you may be represented by a civilian
defense counsel, at your own expense. You may also request
representation by an individual military counsel (IMC) of your own
selection, if that counsel is reasonable available, as determined by his
or her commanding officer. If you are represented by a civilian
counsel, your detailed defense counsel will normally continue to represent
you along with your civilian counsel, unless you choose to dismiss the
detailed military counsel. If you are represented by an IMC, the
decision to continue to be represented by your first defense counsel is up
to his or her commanding officer.
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To have three full days between the day when
you receive service of a completed charge sheet and the day the trial
begin.
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To plead "not guilty" to any or all offenses
charged, even if you have committed the offences and believe the
government can prove them beyond a reasonable doubt. A plea of
guilty is the strongest form of proof in the law. On your plea of
guilty alone, you may be found guilty without any other evidence being
presented against you. Moreover, a plea of guilty permits the court
martial to give you any form of punishment up to the maximum authorized.
If you decide to plea guilty, you must admit every element of the offense
alleged and waive the following rights: (a) constitutional right against
self-incrimination; (b) right to trial of the facts alleged by a court
martial; and (c) constitutional right to confront the witnesses against
you.
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To remain silent, to testify and call any
witness on your behalf, and to cross-examine all witnesses called to
testify on the ultimate issue of guilt or innocence. If you are
charged with more than one offence, you may limit your testimony to less
than all or to one of the offenses charged.
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To assert any proper formal defense or
objection, such as lack of jurisdiction or the running of the statute of
limitations, whether or not you enter a guilty plea.
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As to any offenses of which you are guilty,
you may: (a) remain silent; (b) testify under oath and being subject to
cross-examination; (c) make an un-sworn oral or written statement by
yourself or through your counsel without being subject to
cross-examination; and (d) present evidence in extenuation and mitigation
(on matters about yourself or the offense which you would like the court
to consider before determining sentence).
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To be tried by a member (jury) composed of
at least three officers.
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To request the appointment of enlisted
persons to comprise at least one-third of the members of your court
martial. These enlisted members would be senior to you and from a
different company or section.
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If you choose a jury, the members will
determine your guilt or innocence by a two-thirds majority vote conducted
by secret ballot. If you are found guilty, then the members will
determine your sentence by a similar process: two-third majority vote
conducted by secret ballot.
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I you do not want a jury trial, you may
instead request to be tried by a military judge alone. In that case,
the sole military judge will determine your guilt or innocence, as well as
your sentence.
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To request "in writing" an
other-than-honorable discharge instead of a court-martial. Before
submitting such request, you must consult with counsel. If your
request is approved, you will receive an other-than-honorable discharge
and may be deprived of all veteran's rights and benefits otherwise due to
you as a result of your current period of active duty. You could
expect to encounter substantial prejudice in the civilian community as a
result of this type of discharge, and it may prevent you from obtaining
the job you desire, or from attending the school of your choice.
III. General Court-Martial
If you are charged with an offence, and the
convening authority is contemplating trail by general court-martial (a
felony trial), the evidence against you must first be presented at an
Article 32 Investigation (refer to the Article 32 section for more
information).
After
the Article 32 Investigation has been conducted, or is waived by you, your
cases may be referred to a trial by general court-martial. At a general
court-martial, the maximum punishment is generally determined by the sum
of the maximum punishment authorized for all offences with which you are
charged, unless some of the charges are duplicative, which means they cannot be
counted separately. Those maximum punishments are separately listed for
each offence under the UCMJ. They can be found in the Manual for
Courts-Martial in the section for Punitive Articles, Art. 77 through Art
134, or in the Appendix marked Table of Maximum Punishments.
Your rights at a general court-martial defer from your rights at a special
court-martial (refer to Special Court-martial section for more
information) in only a few ways: (a) you have the right to have five full
days (rather than three) between the day of service of a completed charge
sheet upon you and the trial date; and (b) you have the right to be tried
by members (jury) composed of at least five (rather than three) officers.
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