Find Military Law Attorney  By Lorraine Fisher

Military law applies to all legal issues arising in the U.S. Military and its branches. This encompasses the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. Because the military has its own legal system – the backbone of which is the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) – military law is meted out in military courts with military judges. Yet, the lawyers who are retained in these cases are primarily private sector attorneys who work on a contingency fee basis. A few are employed by the government and may work at the county, state, or federal level.

What Does it Do?

Military law applies to all active duty personnel, those who serve on reserve or in the Guard and retired military.

As stated in the preamble to the Manual for Courts-Martial, military law is designed to advance justice, order, and discipline in the armed forces. Its aim is largely to improve national security. Punishments run the gamut from mild to severe and may include discharge from the military, a prison term, or counseling and probation.



Types of Cases

The Code of Military Justice is, essentially, a set of criminal laws. It includes some of the same crimes punished under civilian law – rape, drunk driving, murder, and others – but it goes further by implementing laws that govern order and discipline in the military services. Typically, a case that appears in a military law case include: sexual offenses, discharge from the military, absence without leave (AWOL), drug offenses, larceny and fraud, assault, homicide, or breaches of national security.

Three types of courts-martial exist: summary, special, and general. General is the most serious of all military courts and is comprised of a judge, trial counsel, defense counsel and at least five court members.

 

Additional Legal Services:

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American Bar Association
Service Center
321 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60610
800-285-2221

Martindale-Hubbell
121 Chanlon Road
New Providence, NJ 07974
800-526-4902 ext. 8001