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Patty Lininger, age 13, of Albuquerque, N.M., for her question:

WHAT IS A COURT MARTIAL?

A court martial is a military court that tries persons accused of breaking the rules of conduct of the United States armed forces. These rules are set forth in the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

The code provides for three types of courts martial: general, special and summary.

A general court martial is made up of a military judge and a jury of at least five servicemen. General courts martial may try a person for any military crime. But most of them deal with the most serious offenses, such as murder, mutiny and spying.

A special court martial includes at least three members of the armed services, one of whom presides. It may rule on any offense except those punishable by death.

A summary court martial consists of one officer. It tries enlisted men for minor offenses, such as short absences without leave. If a serviceman wants to be tried by more than one man, he may request a special or general court martial instead of a summary trial.

In general and special courts martial, defendants receive free counsel from officers who are lawyers. The defendant may also hire a civilian lawyer. Before a general court martial assembles, a pretrial investigation decides if the charges are justified.

A commanding offer names a special or general court martial for each case. Except in cases involving the death penalty, the defendant may request trial by a military judge alone.

An enlisted man may ask that enlisted men make up at least a third of the court.

The officer who appoints a court martial reviews its decisions. A legal officer of his staff must review all general court martial cases. A court of military review examines each case involving a general or a flag officer and all cases involving such severe sentences as death or dismissal from the service. Any reviewer may reduce a sentence.

The highest review body is the Court of Military Appeals.

Court of Military Appeals is the highest appeal court of the United States armed forces. It consists of three civilian judges appointed by the president.

The court reviews all court martial verdicts that provide for the death sentence or involve a general or flag officers.

A serviceman may appeal to the court after a board of military review has examined the court martial findings.

The chief legal officer of the Army, Navy or Air Force may ask the court to review other court martial cases.

The Uniform Code of Military Justice is a set of laws that governs the conduct of all members of the United States armed forces. Congress established the code in 1950 and revised it in the Military Justice Act of 1 968 .

The code states that a qualified lawyer must be offered to a defendant in any general or special court martial. It also states that a defendant may be released from confinement while awaiting an appeal of his case.

 

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