Alliance Code of Military Justice
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[edit] United Systems Alliance Code of Military Justice
[edit] Section 1: Introduction
This Code of Military Justice is to serve as the basis for all judicial action within the Alliance Starfleet.
[edit] Judge Advocate General's Corps.
The Judge Advocate General's Corps. serves as the legal arm within the Alliance military, with jurisdiction over all members of the fleet. It is responsible for providing all legal services involving members of the Alliance Starfleet. It maintains a staff of competent JAG Officers, Military Lawyers, and other related personnel.
[edit] Judge Advocate General
The Judge Advocate General is appointed by the President. He/she is in charge of the J.A.G. Corps. and manages the appointment of all subordinate JAG Officers and Military Lawyers. At his/her discretion, the Judge Advocate General may act as a JAG Officer or Military Lawyer.
[edit] JAG Officers
JAG Officers are specially selected officers working under the Judge Advocate General. They are qualified to accept cases and serve as military judges.
[edit] Military Lawyers
Military Lawyers are qualified officers, appointed by the Judge Advocate General, who provide legal counsel in cases involving military personnel. They may be used as either the prosecution or defense in a court-martial, and are also available, free of charge, to represent military personnel in civilian courts.
[edit] Section 2: Guidelines for Courts-Martial
These are the guidelines for how courts-martial are to come into existence, and be conducted.
[edit] Convening a Court-Martial
A person's Commanding Officer, any Flag Officer in the same unit, or a JAG Officer can file a request to convene a court-martial at the Judge Advocate General's Office. This request should include all basic information, such as the name of the accused, the names of those involved, what charges are being filed, and other important details. A JAG Officer may then grant or deny the request for a court-martial, or the Judge Advocate General may accept a case and either handle it themself, or assign another JAG Officer to it. If the officer requesting the court-martial believes a JAG Officer has unfairly denied a case, they may appeal to the Judge Advocate General. If they believe the Judge Advocate General to unfairly deny a request, it may be appealed to the President of the United Systems Alliance.
[edit] Pre-Trial Setup
The JAG Officer assigned to the case will serve as the military judge. They will also assign a minimum of three officers to serve as the panel of members, which may be referred to as the "tribunal". Any case involving charges which carry the penalty of death must include a panel of members consisting of at least five officers, three of which must be ranked Captain or higher. The panel of members, or tribunal, will determine questions of fact in the case, similar to how a jury operates in civilian courts. Unless otherwise requested by the accused, officers serving on the panel must be of equal or greater rank than the accused. If either the prosecution or defense object to to any of the panel members selected, they may move for their dismissal. The prosecuting officer may be the officer who requested the court-martial, another officer selected by the requesting officer, or, in some cases, a military lawyer assigned by the JAG Corps., working with the requesting officer. The accused may either defend themself, choose someone else to represent them, or have the JAG Corps. appoint a military lawyer to serve as their defense counsel. The military judge presiding over the case is to act as an impartial referee, determining questions of law, and imposing order in the proceedings. The accused has the right to request a judge-only, or bench, trial, where the military judge also takes the place of the panel of members, determining questions of fact.
[edit] Trial Proceedings
Once a court-martial has been convened, and the charges made known, the accused must enter a plea to each charge. All charges to which the accused pleads Guilty to are to be set aside until sentencing. If the accused pleads Guilty to all charges, the court may move immediately to sentencing. If charges remain to which the accused pleads Not Guilty, the trial will proceed. First, the prosecution will make their statement and provide what evidence they have. Next, the defense will make their statement and provide any evidence they have. Then, if the prosecution has anything further to add, they may do so. The trial will continue as such with the prosecution and defense speaking in turn until they have nothing further to add. Then, the panel of members will be allowed to ask the prosecution and defense any questions they have. After the panel of members has finished their questioning, they will each deliberate on all the statements and evidence given, and come to a Guilty or Not Guilty verdict on each charge. Once they have decided, each member will privately send their findings to the military judge. Each charge requires a majority vote of the panel of members for the court to find the accused guilty of it.
[edit] Sentencing
Once the court has found the accused Guilty or Not Guilty of each charge, sentencing begins. All charges of which of the accused has been found Not Guilty are now irrelevant, and are to be ignored. A sentence is to be determined for each charge that the accused has been found Guilty of, either by their own plea, or the panel of members' findings. The military judge will determine the sentencing, however, the prosecution, defense, and members of the panel may each make their own sentencing recommendations to the judge. The military judge may impose a lighter sentence on charges to which the accused has plead Guilty. Maximum sentences for each charge may be found in the punitive articles of this document. Once the military judge has completed the sentencing, he/she will turn the execution of the sentence over to Starfleet.
[edit] Appeals
After a trial has been completed, if either the prosecution or defense believes an error of law was committed, or if new evidence is discovered which they believe will radically change the court's decision, they may file an appeal with the Judge Advocate General. If the Judge Advocate General finds reason to believe that an error of law was committed, or that new evidence drastically affects the case, they may convene a new court-marital to review the case in light of the new evidence.
[edit] Section 3: Punitive Articles
These articles define all charges that can be brought against military personnel in courts-martial. They include the maximum punishments which can be imposed.
[edit] I. Desertion
Any member of the armed forces who without authority goes or remains absent from his unit, organization, or place of duty with intent to remain away therefrom permanently.
Maximum Sentence: Dishonorable discharge and confinement for 3 years. In time of war, death.
[edit] II. Absent Without Leave
Any member of the armed forces who, without authority fails to go to his appointed place of duty at the time prescribed, or goes from that place.
Maximum Sentence: Dishonorable discharge, and confinement for 18 months.
[edit] III. Conspiracy
Any member of the armed forces who conspires with any other person to commit an offense.
Maximum Sentence: If one or more of the conspirators does an act to effect the object of the conspiracy, be punished as committing the offense which is the object of the conspiracy.
[edit] IV. Solicitation
Any member of the armed forces who solicits or advises another to desert, mutiny, or commit another act of misbehavior.
Maximum Sentence: If the offense solicited or advised is attempted or committed, the solicitor may be punished with the punishment provided for the commission of the offense.
[edit] V. Disrespect Toward a Superior Officer
Any member of the armed forces who behaves with disrespect toward his superior officer.
Maximum Sentence: Bad-conduct discharge and confinement for 1 year.
[edit] VI. Failure to Obey General Order or Regulation
Any member of the armed forces who violates or fails to obey any lawful general order or regulation.
Maximum Sentence: Dishonorable discharge and confinement for 2 years.
[edit] VII. Mutiny
Any member of the armed forces who, with intent to usurp or override lawful military authority, refuse, in concert with any other person, to obey orders or otherwise do his duty or creates any violence or disturbance. This does not apply when a Commanding Officer is legally relieved of command, such as by the Executive Officer or Chief Medical Officer. However, such officers will still face a hearing to determine if their actions were justified.
Maximum Sentence: Death.
[edit] VIII. Resistance of Arrest, Flight, and Escape
Any member of the armed forces who resists apprehension, flees from apprehension, or escapes from custody or confinement.
Maximum Sentence: Dishonorable discharge and confinement for 1 year.
[edit] IX. Releasing Prisoner Without Proper Authority
Any member of the armed forces who, without proper authority, releases any prisoner committed to his charge, or who through neglect or design allows any prisoner to escape.
Maximum Sentence: Dishonorable discharge and confinement for 2 years.
[edit] X. Espionage
Any person who is found lurking as a spy or acting as a spy in or about any place or vessel within the control or jurisdiction of any of the armed forces.
Maximum Sentence: Death.
[edit] XI. Destruction of Government Property
Any member of the armed forces who sells, disposes of, damages, destroys, or loses any military property of the United Systems Alliance.
Maximum Sentence: Dishonorable discharge and confinement for 10 years.
[edit] XII. Improper Hazarding of Vessel
Any member of the armed forces who negligently, or intentionally, hazards or suffers to be hazarded any vessel of the armed forces.
Maximum Sentence: If negligently, dishonorable discharge and confinement for 2 years. If intentionally, death.
[edit] XIII. Murder
Any member of the armed forces who, without justification or excuse, unlawfully kills a sentient being.
Maximum Sentence: Death.
[edit] XIV. Larceny
Any member of the armed forces who wrongfully takes, obtains, or withholds from the possession of the owner any money, personal property, or article of value of any kind.
Maximum Sentence: Dishonorable discharge and confinement for 10 years.
[edit] XV. Insubordination
Any member of the armed forces who willfully disobeys a lawful command of his superior officer.
Maximum Sentence: Dishonorable discharge and confinement for 5 years. In time of war, death.
[edit] XVI. Treason
Any member of the armed forces who aids an enemy, defects to an enemy, or shares classified information with another faction.
Maximum Sentence: Death.
[edit] XVII. Assault
Any member of the armed forces who commits an assault with a dangerous weapon or other means or force likely to produce death or bodily harm.
Maximum Sentence: Dishonorable discharge and confinement for 10 years.
[edit] XVIII. Unlawful Damage of Civilian Property
Any member of the armed forces who, without just cause, inflicts damage, either physical or financial, to any civilian property.
Maximum Sentence: Dishonorable discharge and confinement for 5 years.
[edit] XIX. Abuse of Authority
Any member of the armed forces who uses their authority in an unnecessary or unlawful manner, whether against a subordinate member of the armed forces, or any Alliance citizen.
Maximum Sentence: Dishonorable discharge.
[edit] XX. Conduct Unbecoming an Officer and a Gentleman
Conduct violative of this article is action or behavior which, in dishonoring or disgracing the person as an officer, seriously compromises the officer’s character as a gentleman.
Maximum Sentence: Dishonorable discharge and confinement for 1 year.
[edit] Supplemental Notes to Punitive Articles
- In addition to other punishments prescribed in this document, officers convicted of acts in violation of this document may also be subjected to demotions of rank and pay grade, as the court-martial may prescribe.
- If a sentence of Death is prescribed to a person, his/her genetic file is to be removed from the ImmorTrax cloning system prior to execution.
[edit] Section 4: Nonjudicial Punishment
Nonjudicial punishment refers to certain limited punishments which can be awarded for minor disciplinary offenses at the discretion of the offender's commanding officer. Nonjudicial punishment may only be used when dealing with minor disciplinary offenses. The Commanding Officer may choose to exercise nonjudicial punishment in minor instances of Assault, Larceny, Disrespect Toward a Superior Officer, Insubordination, Conducting Unbecoming, or other petty infractions. Whenever nonjudicial punishment is used to settle an offense, the officer awarding the punishment must provide a detailed report of the incident to his Commanding Officer, and to the Office of the J.A.G.
[edit] Section 5: Loss of a Vessel
Whenever a fleet vessel is destroyed, or otherwise lost, a special hearing is to be convened. The purpose of the hearing is determine the cause of the vessel's loss, and determine if negligence or other infractions were responsible. All members of the vessel's chain of command are subject to such an inquiry. A panel of officers, including a JAG Officer and at least two other uninvolved officers will make up the panel of inquiry. They will determine if the actions of any involved persons warrant charges against them, and submit their recommendations to the Office of the Judge Advocate General.
