Accused - A person who is charged with an offense
under military code.
Accuser - Any person who signs and swears to
charges, any person who directs that charges be signed and sworn
to by another.
Admission - A self-incriminatory statement falling
short of a complete acknowledgment of guilt.
Appellate Review - The after review of the record
of trial by a judge advocate and action by the convening authority.
Apprehension - The taking of a person into custody.
Arraignment - The reading of the charges and
specifications to the accused or the waiver of their reading,
coupled with the request that the accused enter a plea of guilty
or not guilty.
Arrest - Moral restraint imposed on a person
by oral or written orders of the competent authority limiting
the person's personal liberty pending disposition of the charges.
Arrest in Quarters - Moral restraint limiting
an officer's liberty, imposed as a non-judicial punishment by
a flag or general officer in command.
Article 15 - An article of the Uniform Code
of Military Justice providing a procedure for investigating and
punishing minor misconduct by military members.
Article 39a Session - A session of a court-martial
called by the military judge either before the members are seated
or after that phase of the trial has begun.
Bad Conduct Discharge - One of two types of
punitive discharges that may be imposed on an enlisted person.
Bench Trial - Based on a request by the accused,
a trial where the military judge hears the evidence, determines
guilt and imposes a sentence.
Capital Offense - An offense for which the maximum
punishment includes the death penalty.
Challenge - Formal objection to a member of
the court or the military judge being allowed to continue to sit
on a court-martial.
Charge - A formal statement explaining the article
of the Uniform code of Military Justice which the accused I alleged
to have violated.
Charge and Specification - A description in
writing of the offense that the accused is alleged to have committed.
Clemency - Discretionary action by person authorized
to reduce the severity of the sentence.
Command - The authority that a commander in
military service lawfully exercises over his/her subordinates
by virtue of being placed in command by a superior officer.
Constructive Knowledge - Knowledge which may
be found to have existed because the regulation, notice, fact,
or directive at issue was of so notorious a nature, or was so
conspicuously posted or distributed, that the particular accused
ought to have known of its existence.
Convening Authority - The officer who has authority
to convene a court-martial.
Convening Order - The document by which a court-martial
is created. It specifies the type of court and lists the time
and place of meeting, the names of the members, counsel, and the
authority by which the court-martial is created.
Court-Martial - A military tribunal composed
of one or more members of the Armed Forces.
Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces - A civilian
appellate court composed of five judges appointed by the President
and confirmed by the Senate.
Court of Criminal Appeals - A military appellate
court composed of not less than three officers or civilians that
review records of certain courts-martial.
Dereliction of Duty - Willfully or negligently
failing to perform assigned duties or performing them in a culpably
inefficient manner.
Dishonorable Discharge - The most severe punitive
discharge, reserved for those who should be separated under conditions
of dishonor, after having been convicted of offenses usually recognized
by the civil law as felonies or military offenses requiring severe
punishment.
Dismissal - the punitive discharge imposed on
officers and warrant officers.
Disrespect - Words, acts, omissions that are
synonymous with contempt and amount to behavior or language which
detracts from the respect due to the authority and person of a
superior.
Defense Counsel - A judge advocate who represents
a military member in any adverse actions.
Elements - The essential ingredients of an offense
that are to be proven at the trial.
Judge Advocate - An officer who is admitted
to the bar of the highest court of any State or federal court
and has been designated as a judge advocate.
Legal Officer - Any commissioned officer of
the Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard designated to perform legal
duties of a command.
Manual for Courts-Martial - Provides procedures
for the practice of military law, such as the Rules for Courts-Martial
and the Military Rules of Evidence.
Matter in Aggravation - Any circumstance serving
to explain the commission of the offense, including the reasons
that motivated the accused, but not extending to a legal justification.
Matter in Mitigation - Any circumstance which
is introduced for the purpose of lessening the punishment to be
awarded by a court or to serve as grounds for a reduction of that
sentence in clemency.
Military Judge - The commissioned officer who
acts as the judge in courts-martial.
Minor Offense - An offense for which confinement
of less than one year is authorized.
Negligence - The failure to exercise the care,
prudence, or attention to duties that the interests of the government
require to be exercised by a prudent and reasonable person under
the circumstances.
Non-judicial Punishment - Punishment imposed
under the Article 15 for minor offenses.
Pretrial Agreement - An agreement between the
accused and the convening authority, usually to limit the amount
of punishment that can be imposed in a court-martial in return
for a plea of guilty to some or all of the charges.
Pretrial Investigation - An investigation under
Article 32, UCMJ that is required before convening a General Court-Martial.
President of the Panel - The senior ranking
member of a court-martial panel.
Punitive Articles - Articles 77 through 134
of the UCMJ. These articles generally describe various crimes
and state how they may be punished.
Referral of Charges - The action of the convening
authority in directing that a particular case be tried by a court-martial.
Remission - Action by proper authority interrupting
the execution of a punishment and canceling out the punishment
remaining to be served.
Restriction in Lieu of Arrest - Moral restraint,
less severe than arrest.
Set Aside - Action by proper authority voiding
the proceedings and the punishment awarded and restoring all rights,
privileges, and property lost by virtue of the punishment imposed.
Suspension - Action by proper authority to withhold
the execution of a punishment for a probationary period.
Trial Counsel - the judge advocate who serves
as the prosecutor in courts-martial.
Uniform Code of Military Justice - Referred
to as the "UCMJ", it forms the basis for military criminal
law. It contains the requirements for jurisdiction, trial procedure,
sentencing, and non-judicial punishment.
The right Military Justice lawyer may be your
ONLY DEFENSE against Courts-Martial and jail.
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