Modern Military Justice, Cases and Materials

Lisa M. Schenck, George Washington University Law School

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Table of Contents

The Fourth Edition addresses all the changes to the UCMJ and the Manual for Courts-Martial since publication of the Third Edition in the Spring of 2019. During this period, Congress made amendments to the UCMJ in the following acts
 

• National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024, Pub. L. 118-31, 137 Stat. 136 (2023) (amending UCMJ arts. 16, 24a, 25, 67a, 118, 128B, 130, 146)
• James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, Pub. L. 117-263, 136 Stat. 2395 (2022) (amending UCMJ arts. 1, 24a, 25, 61, 66, 69)
• National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, Pub. L. No. 117-81, 135 Stat. 1541 (2021) (amending UCMJ arts. 1, 6b, 22, 23, 24a, 27, 32, 34, 44, 53, 53a, 56, 65, 66, 133)
• William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, Pub. L. No. 116-283, 134 Stat. 3388 (2021) (amending UCMJ Arts. 23, 24, 66, 67, 140a, 146a)
• National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, Pub. L. No. 116-92, 133 Stat. 1198 (2019) (amending UCMJ Arts. 30a, 37, 43, 128b, 940a)

In addition, the President issued the following two executive orders amending the Rules for Courts-Martial (R.C.M.) and the Military Rules of Evidence (M.R.E.)
 

• Exec. Order No. 14,103, 88 Fed. Reg. 50535 (Aug. 2, 2023) (amending R.C.M. 103, 104, 105, 201, 301, 302, 303, 303A, 305, 306, 306A, 307, 308, 309, 401, 401A, 402, 403, 404, 404A, 405, 406, 406A, 407, 502, 503, 504, 505, 601, 603, 604, 701, 702, 703, 704, 705, 706, 707, 804, 804, 805, 810, 813, 902, 902A, 905, 906, 908, 909, 910, 911, 912, 912A, 912B, 914, 914A, 914B, 916, 918, 920, 924, 925, 1001, 1002, 1003, 1004, 1005, 1006, 1007, 1008, 1009, 1101, 1102, 1104, 1106, 1106A, 1107, 1109, 1111, 1112, 1113, 1115, 1116, 1117, 1201, 1202, 1203, 1204, 1208, 1210, 1301, 1302, 1304, 1306 and M.R.E. 311, 315, 404, 503, 505, 506, 507, 611, 803, 807, 902)
• Exec. Order No. 14,062, 87 Fed. Reg. 4763 (Jan. 26, 2022) (amending R.C.M. 916)

Also since publication of the Third Edition of this book, the President promulgated three new editions of the Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (M.C.M.): the 2019 Edition, the 2023 Edition, and the 2024 Edition.

Instructors and students using this book should download the new M.C.M. (2024 Edition), which incorporates all the recent changes. It is available online for free at the website of the Joint Service Committee on Military Justice: https://jsc.defense.gov/.

The Fourth Edition contains a revised Chapter 1 that provides an overview of the new military justice system—a system which is much more complicated than it was just a few years ago. Essentially, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, Pub. L. No. 117-81, 135 Stat. 1541 (2021) significantly changed the role of commanders in preferring and referring court-martial charges, creating a bifurcated system of military justice—one process for “covered offenses” with uniformed judge advocates spearheading the process (see The Court-Martial “Covered Offenses” Process Chart, infra), and one process for “non-covered offenses” with commanders playing an integral role in the process (see The Court-Martial “Non-Covered Offenses” Process Chart, infra).

The Fourth Edition also includes an updated chapter concerning the substantive law of rape and other sex crimes under the UCMJ. Because approximately half of all courts-martial now involve such crimes, students of military justice need an introduction to this important and complicated subject. The Fourth Edition also contains expanded coverage of inappropriate relationships, extramarital sexual conduct, and federal court jurisdiction. The chapter on trial of enemy combatants by Military Commissions was eliminated in the Third Edition. Several new cases have been added.

Learn more about this series.