A court-martial attorney represents the government or defendant in military court. They receive legal training and are designated judges’ attorneys. Military personnel are governed by the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and court-martials are convened for violations. Trial attorneys represent the government, while defense counsel represents the defendant. A panel of military personnel serves as the jury, and court-martial attorneys must be alert to the possibility of command influence.
A court-martial attorney represents the government in a military court, presenting its case as a civilian prosecutor, or representing the defendant in that case. A court-martial attorney usually receives legal training at an accredited US law school and has been admitted to the highest court order of any federal court state. Upon being commissioned into the US military and receiving special military legal training, these officers are designated judges’ attorneys.
Members of the US military are governed by a set of regulations called the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), violations of which are prosecuted by the military as criminal cases in court proceedings called courts-martial. A court-martial is an ad-hoc body convened by the commander, called a convening authority (CA), for the purpose of trying a single case. There are three types of court martial. A summary court-martial is called for minor offenses; an officer is assigned to hear the case, without a prosecutor or defense attorney, and punishment options are very limited. Special and General Courts – Martial are convened for more serious offenses and are structured similarly to civil courts & emdash; that is, they are presided over by military judges, and the prosecution and defense are handled by lawyers.
The court-martial attorney responsible for prosecuting a case is called a trial attorney, who is an attorney assigned to the case by the appropriate military justice command. The defendant is represented by defense counsel, who is usually a judge’s attorney appointed at no cost to the defendant, but the defendant is permitted to hire civil counsel. The cost of the civil attorney is borne by the defendant, but the defendant’s assigned attorney remains with the case and assists the civil defense attorney.
The CA will select a panel of military personnel to serve as the jury, although they may be challenged by counsel and dismissed by the judge if necessary. A defendant may also choose not to have a panel, opting to have the verdict decided by the judge alone.
The trial attorney is responsible for representing the government in the case, just like the prosecutor in a civil criminal case. Two functions of the trial attorney not performed by a civil prosecutor are preparing the case record, under the judge’s supervision, and administering the oath to the witnesses. Once appointed, the trial attorney is also responsible for conducting the necessary investigations to develop additional evidence.
The duties of a military defense attorney are similar to those of a defense attorney in a civil criminal court. All relate to the zealous defense of the accused; however, there is one feature of a military trial that is often lacking in a civilian trial. Although a court-martial is convened by the commander and his jury is also selected by the same person, these individuals are expected to administer justice impartially, without concern for “command influence”. That is, even if they know the commander’s opinion about the case and the desired outcome, which is permissible, that knowledge may not influence their interpretation of the law or the evidence presented. Likewise, panel deliberations must also be conducted without influence from the command. A court-martial attorney acting as defense counsel must be alert to the possibility of command influence and, if it appears, challenge it.
Thus, although the duties of a court-martial attorney are in many respects similar to those of corresponding attorneys in criminal cases in civil courts, the duties of both trial and defense attorneys include special responsibilities unique to the military justice system.
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