Uniform Code Of Military Justice (Ucmj)

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The Uniform Code of Military justice (UCMJ) is a federal law, enacted by congress. It defines the military justice system and lists criminal offenses under military law (military). The president enacts rules by executive order known as Manual for Courts-Martial (MCM). The Manual for Court Martial details the rules and regulations for military court-martials and provides for maximum punishments for each military offense listed in the punitive articles of the UCMJ (Military). There is also a Non-Judicial Punishment, which consist of an article 15.
Non-judicial punishment consist of normally and article 15. It is the most common type of punishment in the military. Non-judicial punishment is often called mast in the Navy and Coast Guard, …show more content…

When a service member has been accused of a crime, their immediate will conduct an inquiry. This may be anything from an examination of the charges to a full investigation, depending on the severity of the charges. An investigation may be done by the chain of command, military or civilian law enforcement. . Once evidence has been gathered and the inquiry is complete, the commander can choose to dispose of the charges by (1) taking no action, (2) initiating Administrative action, (3) imposing non-judicial punishment, (4) preferring charges, (5) or forwarding to a higher authority for preferral of charges (FAS.org). Once the investigation is complete a prefferal of a charges also known as a charge sheet is completed. The charge sheet must be signed by the accuser under oath before a commissioned officer authorized to administer oaths. Once charges have been preferred they may be referred to one of three types of courts-martial: summary, special, or general. The seriousness of the offenses alleged generally determines the type of court-martial (FAS). Anyone that is being court martialed should retain a lawyer before saying anything to protect themselves. Once charged, they are read their rights and everything they say can, and will be used against …show more content…

A discharge other than honorable is the least severe, normally for charges that are not capital charges. This type of discharge can only be given when a Soldier has been given significant opportunity to consult with counsel and refute any charges in an administrative hearing before an impartial board of officers with the assistance of counsel. Once again the type of discharge is clearly delineated on the DD 214 and is generally not favored by employers (Army). A bad conduct discharge is less severe than a dishonorable discharge and is meant to serve as punishment for bad conduct rather than a punishment for serious offences. A dishonorable discharge is for serious offences and will follow a service member for life. These two discharges are only given after a court martial. It is something that stays on their record and follows them. If convicted, they must select that they were convicted of a crime on any job application. With this discharge members will also lose any benefits that they may have been entitled to with an honorable discharge. This includes any educational, loan to included federal loans such as FHA or student loans as well as VA benefits. They will also never be able to hold a federal position such as a mailman or work for a federal

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