What is a summary court-martial?
A summary court-martial is the lowest level of court-martial available. It is designed to promptly resolve minor offenses under a simple procedure. While it has lower maximum punishments than the other two types of court-martial, it also has fewer rights for the accused (that is, you, the person facing the charges).
What is a DD Form 458?
In preparing charges for trial by courts-martial, the unit commander will use the current DD Form 458, Charge Sheet. While the unit commander is responsible for the preparation of the Charge Sheet, there is no legal requirement that he do it personally.
Can I request court-martial on a ship?
Except in the case of a person attached to or embarked in a vessel, an accused may demand a trial by court-martial in lieu of nonjudicial punishment (NJP).
What can you be court martialed for?
A court-martial is a criminal trial for members of the military who are accused of committing the crimes listed in the “Punitive Articles” section of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Some of these crimes, such as larceny, arson, manslaughter, or conspiracy, are similar to civilian crimes.
What happens when a soldier is court martialed?
In General Courts-Martial, service members face a wide range of punishments, including confinement, reprimand, loss of all pay and allowances, reduction to the lowest enlisted pay grade, a punitive discharge (bad-conduct discharge, dishonorable discharge, or dismissal), restrictions, fines, and, in some cases, capital …
What is charge sheet in military?
(1) A charge-sheet shall contain the whole issue or issues to be tried by a court-martial at one time. (2) A charge means an accusation contained in a charge-sheet that a person subject to the Act has been guilty of an offence.
What section of the Department of Defense Form 458 pertains to referral?
RECEIPT AND REFERRAL OF CHARGES The appropriate court-martial convening authority will refer the charges to a specific court-martial for trial and complete Section V of the charge sheet.
Can you refuse NJP?
Except for individuals attached to or embarked on a vessel, service members have the right to refuse nonjudicial punishment. Usually, refusing an NJP will result in the case being moved to a court martial, which can result in a more serious sentence.
Can you be denied court-martial?
A military member, except under one circumstance, has the right to either accept NJP, or refuse NJP and demand trial by court-martial. The decision to refuse NJP and demand trial by court-martial is one that must be well thought out, and preferably under the advice of an experienced military criminal defense attorney.