 The latest weapons coupled with the fighting skill of the American soldier stands ready on the alert all over the world to defend this country you the American people against aggression this is the big picture an official television report to the nation from the United States Army now to show you part of the big picture here is sergeant Stuart Queen today our story will focus upon a most absorbing subject military justice in the army it is a fascinating tale because it explains how our military laws came into being who made them who continues to make them it shows how the rights of our citizens in uniform are protected at every step of a legal proceeding it shows why military law must sometimes differ from civilian law and it should clear up many erroneous or vague notions about military justice too so let's turn now to today's big picture and see how army laws administered under the uniform code of military justice these are the first minutes of a general court partial the accused as a soldier but the army knows that good citizens make good soldiers relatively few appear before an army court which is composed of officers who must have special authority and a special order to hold trial is the accused present he is it appears that the court is properly constituted a quorum is present the accused is present and both trial and defense counsel are qualified you may call the court to order whenever you're ready the court will come to order the court is convened by special orders number 138 paragraph 2 headquarters ninth infantry division it is the army's firm belief that a good knowledge of military law will help prevent our soldiers from ever being involved in such a situation from ever having to sit in the seat of the accused to understand why our army has its own law let's see what makes an army we all know that it is made up of many arms and services though that it employs the most modern weapons which science and industry can provide it derives its greatest strength from its unity and unity spirit each man knows that he can rely on the next man that is the secret of the United States Army success that's the big picture and that's one reason why our nation has never lost a war but back in 1776 the days of our first war when we were fighting for our independence our army was short in everything except courage and the will to win led by general Washington our first soldiers fought and died so that this nation could make its own laws and be governed by its own citizens that's the meaning of independence the first American articles of war were adopted in 1775 these were the first rules for military justice in our army from the day our flag of liberty was first unfurled the United States Army had its own laws and its own courts now the branch of service in the army responsible for the administration of military justice is the judge advocate generals corps and from the very first days of our army to this very day every soldier from private to general has been governed by the code of military law military law makes no allowance for rank no man is excused from punishment because of rank congress the lawmaking part of our government passes the army's laws they make them today just as did their predecessors back in 1775 senators and representatives elected by you are the people who create the code of military law which is now called the uniform code of military justice our military leaders see to it that the military laws and regulations are obeyed military policemen are soldiers who are specially trained in law enforcement one of their principal duties is to protect the welfare of the fellow soldiers they want to keep them out of trouble however if a soldier is apprehended reports of his misconduct are normally received first by his commanding officer who investigates the complaint to determine what action he should take there are three courses of action which he may follow the code by its fifteenth article gives every commanding officer the authority to impose minor punishment for minor offenses however minor offenses may sometimes be excused pain there's no complaint against you except that you're out of uniform since this is a minor offense I'm not going to punish you but I'm warning you don't let this happen again but if a soldier commits a minor offense which is not excused and it is not demand trial by court martial he may be punished by his commanding officer well as I gather all the facts from this investigation you were drunk and using abusive language this cannot be excused I'm imposing non-judicial punishment under article 15 this is not a court martial it is authorized corrective action limited to minor punishment such as two weeks restriction which does not appear in the enlisted man's permanent record but the record of punishment does remain in the company's unit punishment book for more serious offenses alleged a commanding officer will recommend trial by court martial Brown I've carefully considered this case and the information you've given me I've decided that I will recommend trial by court martial there is nothing mysterious or a secretive in a court martial its chief purpose is to hold a fair trial free from influence of rank or command in open court in accordance with procedure established by the Congress and the president the defense has no further questions prosecution has no further questions are there any questions by the court there are no questions by the court at this time the witness is excused subject to recall every witness is examined and cross-examined the objective of the court members is to find out exactly what happened both sides are given equal opportunity to present their story raise your right hand you swear the evidence you're about to give in the case now and hearing shall be the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth of your God I do state your full name rank organization and armed forces after hearing all of the evidence the court members vote in secret to come to their decision the court may find the accused innocent or guilty if the verdict is guilty then the proper punishment is imposed let's discuss the different army courts established by the Uniform Code it provides for three courts the smallest known as the summary court is composed of one commissioned officer this court can only try minor offenses and is limited to enforcing minor punishments such as confinement for not more than one month and forfeiture of two-thirds of one month's pay more serious cases are tried by the second court the special court marshal the special court marshal may try all offenses except those punishable by death it has three or more members a council for the United States as well as a council for the accused the defense council must be a qualified lawyer whenever the prosecution is represented by one the highest court is the general court marshal but before a general court marshal is convened the investigating officer takes over good morning captain chinks be with you in a minute thank you right goodbye you've been appointed investigating officer on the poll case this file has been endorsed to you for investigation just a sign here please the investigating officer's role in any case serious enough to be considered for general court action is a unique safeguard for the accused the army's investigating officer is like a one-man grand jury he is the military counterpart of this civilian investigating body a grand jury here's evidence questions witnesses to gain full knowledge of the case and decides whether or not a defendant should be brought to trial and an investigating officer does roughly the same as seen in this hypothetical case of a soldier accused of stealing a pistol he is questioning a civilian witness however there is this notable difference the accused is always present and represented by council he has the right to cross-examine witnesses unlike a civilian grand jury the military pre-trial investigation here is both sides after the investigating officer has reviewed the case he can recommend either trial by general court marshal or by one of the lesser courts or he can suggest that the accused not be tried at all his recommendation goes to the officer with authority to convene a general court marshal if trial by general court marshal is recommended and accepted then that body is convened a general court marshal consists of five members or more qualified lawyers for the United States and for the defense a qualified attorney known as the law officer serves as the judge of the general court his function is to guide the court he interprets legal language he rules on legal procedure he makes sure that the trial complies fully with the code like a civilian judge the law officer abstains from deliberations on the guilt or innocence of the accused but he instructs the court on the law this decision is the sole responsibility of the court members who vote by secret ballot anyone from recruit to general may appear before this court charged with any offense and it may impose any sentence authorized with a uniform code including the sentences of life imprisonment dishonorable discharge or death in these courts when an accused is an enlisted person he may request enlisted personnel to sit as members if he so requests then at least one-third of the members of the court must be enlisted personnel every court marshal whether it be a summary court a special court marshal or a general court marshal is controlled by several basic legal fundamentals these procedural rules guarantee full protection to the innocent here is the first rule the accused is always assumed innocent until he is proved guilty the second rule the accused has the right to remain silent at all times and is so informed in open court which you do not testify second you may remain silent that is say nothing at all you have a right to do this if you wish and if you do so the fact that you do not take the witness stand yourself will not count against you in any way with the court it will not be considered as an admission that you are guilty or can it be commented on in any way by the trial counsel in addressing the court take time to consult with your counsel and then advise the court with you wish to testify or to remain silent thus an accused need never testify against himself his silence is no sign of guilt thirdly unless an accused pleads guilty the prosecution must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt the final rule if the court has a reasonable doubt of the accused's guilt it must acquit him courts marshal are held in open court spectators are always admitted unless the details of the trial involved matters of military security or unless there are other good reasons for closing the trial in addition to the many safeguards every case in which the accused is found guilty is always subject to one or more reviews there is always an automatic review by the authority who convened the court marshal in serious cases this commander is required by law to obtain the advice of his staff judge advocate is legal advisor before he takes action on the record of trial a commander must be impartial he is prohibited from attempting to influence any members of the court marshal the trial or defense counsel or the law officer a board of review must also review the record of trial if the case involves serious sentence such as death dishonorable or bad conduct discharge or confinement for one year or more the board is composed of three or more members who are military lawyers appointed by the judge advocate general this board is like an appellate court during the deliberations the accused is entitled to be represented by counsel to plead before this court the entire record is examined and reexamined to assure a fair and just verdict and a proper sentence reviewing authorities can only approve or reduce the punishment order a rehearing or order the charges be dismissed under no circumstances can they increase the punishment a final review can be requested from the United States court of military appeals the chief judge and associate judges of the United States court of military appeals here you hear you hear you the honorable the United States court of military appeals is now open and in session God saved the United States of America and this honorable court this court consists of three highly experienced judges appointed from civilian life by the president in addition to reviewing serious cases the court of military appeals also reviews records of trial upon petition of the accused if good cause has been shown in other words Congress the civilian lawmaker of our government sets up the code which regulates the conduct of all men and women in the armed forces military personnel obey these laws in accordance with established procedure in this respect our military continues to remain an army of citizens obeying civilian enacted laws while protecting and defending the liberty of our nation the laws of the army are based on plain common sense and are easily obeyed if a soldier does what he knows to be right to prevent committing offenses through ignorance of the law a soldier must be able to distinguish the difference between army life which prepares him for combat and civilian life amid peace and harmony Tom Jones a garage mechanic is going to help us understand the great difference between army and civilian laws right now he's on his way to work when it decides the great day to go fishing so he does three hours later he reports to work he is absent without permission but has he broken any law not if he has a fishing license his employer can subtract three hours wages or fire Tom Tom's absence from his job affected only Tom and his employer now let's take Bessie Smith another civilian Bessie's been pounding a typewriter for years pretty good at it too but she'd like a raise now she finally asks for it eight months ago you promised me a raise and it still hasn't come through what about it I told you before the budget just doesn't allow it yet well let me tell you this Barney Vera I've been working in this office for the last six years and I've been promised a raise and promised it and I've had nothing but procrastination from you and I'm sick and tired of it you've got an operator here who's talented and able to do work and if you can't do more than just give me a line of guff I'm sick and tired of it you look at somewhere else for a secretary I've worked and worked and I deserve something of a raise in here I'm through with this I can tell you I've stood as much as I can I quit so Bessie marches back to her desk and picks up a few personal possessions and kisses the place goodbye now she's leaving without permission has she committed a crime the most that has happened here is that some papers won't be typed on time any serious harm done not at all no crime here this is a right which we free people have in civilian life you can always quit your job and start looking for another one now let's take another example of a common experience in civilian life Harry Grebb works in a big department store all day long he's selling ties hundreds of them but he doesn't like Mr. Struble is a manager and don't think Mr. Struble doesn't know it the bread your counters are messy oh yeah yes you don't seem to be paying much attention to the customers look I'm sick of listening to you yak yak yak all day long you couldn't direct one-way traffic maybe so Mr. Grebb the fact remains your counters are messy and you'd better clean them up maybe so Mr. Struble but the fact remains you can clean them yourself Mr. Grebb your fire go to the cashier and get your check did Harry commit a crime by refusing to obey orders by his degrading remarks concerning his superior the answer is no this is no crime in civilian life here's Harry in military service he's in combat in the company runner but still the same man Grebb run this down the Baker Company CP what again now wait for an answer but I just came back better get a move on don't you make up your mind feet are killing me yak yak yak yak with the messages all day long I'm running back and forth back and forth don't knock off don't you get a bicycle and your own paper routes that a tester and me this for your message let's assume the message isn't delivered in the combat zone you either fight together or maybe die separately now let's consider Bessie in uniform still a typist but now an important one why instead of typing orders for underwear she handles the decoding of messages but Bessie hasn't changed she still thinks she's underpaid so on this bright Tuesday she ups grabs her little cap and steps over to tell the old man what's on her little mind you can guess what she's saying especially when she points to the one lonesome stripe on her arm when he says the table of organization won't allow it she once again says I quit now again this is a highly imaginary scene which has never happened because of the disaster which might follow you see her exit doesn't stop the progress of war nor does it stop the clattering teletype machine so what's the damage this time it might be anything three messages marked urgent are decoded a few minutes late and information vital to a coming operation arrives also a little too late something may go wrong on this operation has she committed an offense figure it out for yourself the results of leaving a post any post in the army may mean a lost battle and translated into terms of life and death may add up to a loss of a lot of good men that's how to figure out military laws they're only based on past experience and now here's the last imaginary man in our story it's Tom the mechanic remember him only now he's finishing basic and as well on his way to making a good soldier but what's this it's another stream loaded with fish shucks a few hours here isn't going to change the course of the war the next morning Tom's had enough of rustic beauty so he reports back to his company only he's slightly a wall one day of it has he committed an offense yes he has here's why because while he was gone remember this is a training camp he should have pulled guard duty or maybe he had KP coming up or what's more important maybe he missed one day of valuable training men can't be trained one at a time that's one reason why rules like the AWOL law came into being for you see whether in training or in combat army law is always based on common sense and since wrongful acts in combat can have the most disastrous consequences the penalties for them are greater military punishment fits the crime military law is always fair it is fair because the Congress made it that way our civilian representatives frame the laws of our army to help keep it strong in fighting trim wherever it may be the uniform code of military justice does this by establishing a uniform high standard of conduct the courts martial of the army the summary the special and the general are as old as the army itself every court martial is convened for one single function to hear witnesses and to weigh evidence which establishes the facts which ultimately determines whether or not an offense has been committed if so to a judge a proper punishment a careful examination of all the facts before trial in the most serious cases and always after the trial assures the same interpretation of the code for all the rights of every accused are protected by legal safeguards the army's court martial system is constantly developing to achieve its high goal of dispensing justice the army wants its men to have good records laws are guides to that end they can help a man who is good conduct medal to a record of distinction when a soldier leaves the army with a clean record it will follow him when he returns to civilian life his family and community are proud of a job well done the army joins in this commendation for an honorable discharge means a man has served his country loyally and faithfully it is an assurance that his respect for law learned in uniform will help make him a useful citizen of our great nation as the uniform code of military justice provides greater safeguards and privileges for our citizens in uniform than any other judicial system in the United States now there's a sergeant steward queen inviting you to be with us again next week for another look at the big picture the big picture is a weekly television report to the nation on the activities of the army at home and overseas produced by the army pictorial center presented by the United States Army in cooperation with this station you too can be an important part of the big picture you can proudly serve for the best equipped the best trained the best fighting team in the world today the United States Army