Military Courts

Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)

commonly called "courts-martial," are courts established for the maintenance of discipline and the administration of justice in the military and naval forces. In the United States such courts derive their authority from those provisions of the Constitution which, first, designate the President as "Commander-in-Chief of the of the United States," Army and Navy avy and, second, empower Congress to "raise and support armies," to "provide and maintain a navy" and to "make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces." Military law, by which courts-martial are governed, draws its provisions from several sources, of which the following are the most important: 1. The statutory codes established by legislative enactment. The code governing the army is known as "The Articles of War." That governelectric light and street railroad plants, ing the navy is entitled "An Act for and daily and weekly newspapers. There the Government of the Navy." Both of these codes are based upon an English code of very early origin but with many modifications, all in the direction of reduced severity. 2. Other laws passed by Congress from time to time, dealing with new questions growing out of changed conditions. 3. The "Army Regulations" and "Navy Regulations" issued by the Secretaries of War and the Navy under the authority of the President. 4. Such "General and Special Orders" as are issued from time to time by the Secretaries of War and the Navy. 5. The "Customs of the Service" ag these have been developed through a long series of years, including the code of ethics recognized as defining conduct becoming "an officer and a gentleman." Courts-martial are of several kinds with varying degrees of jurisdiction and varying degrees of power as to the sentences which they may award. The highest of these is the General Court-martial, which deals with all offenses charged against commissioned officers and with serious charges against enlisted men. For lesser offenses, enlisted men are brought before a Summary Court, of comparatively limited authority. For dealing with cases still less serious, the army has the Regimental and Gar rison Courts, and the navy the Deck Court. A general court-martial must be composed of not more than thirteen members, nor fewer than five. The senior officer is president of the court, with wide dis- See cretionary powers as to procedure, but with only one vote as to the finding and sentence. Whenever practicable all officers of the court must be senior to the officer to be tried. An officer, usually selected for his knowledge of law, is appointed as prosecutor, with the title The person on trial "Judge-Advocate." te." may be represented by counsel and if he fails to avail himself of this privilege, the court usually appoints some officer to act in this capacity. In cases where for any reason no counsel is available, the regulations provide that the judgeadvocate shall assist the defendant (technically "the accused"), in any way possible. Even when a counsel is present, the court guards the rights of the accused as jealously as those of the governmentthe first aim of a court-martial being to arrive at the truth. While the rules of evidence recognized by courts-martial are practically identical with those of civil courts, the technicalities which so often clog the wheels of civil courts receive scant attention from courts-martial except when they have a manifest bearing upon the case. Under the law, general courts-martial are called into existence by an order from its President, the Secretary of War or Navy, or the commander-in-chief of a military or naval force. Officers of rank below a commander-in-chief may be vested also with this authority by special order of the President. Courts-martial differ from civil courts, first, in the fact that their existence is temporary only, and, secord, in that their findings and sentences have no validity until approved by the authority which convened the court. The cases sent to the court having been completed by the court and acted upon by the convening authority the same authority dissolves the court, which thus passes out of existence. Every member of the court takes an oath to try the case before him according to the laws for the government of of the army (navy), the evidence which shall be adduced, and his own conscience. Voting on the finding and sentence is by secret bailot. The convening authority having received the record of the trial, considers it carefully and approves, disapproves, or approves "in part." He may, if disapproving, return all the papers for reconsideration, giving his reasons for disapproving; upon which the court may modify its original action or adhere to it. In the end, the convening authority may disapprove this sentence of the court, or reduce it. He cannot, however, increase it. Following the final action by the convening authority, the papers in the case go to the judge-advocate of the army or navy, who goes over the papers and comments upon the trial for the benefit of the Secretary, who, as in the case of the convening authority, may set aside the sentence, or reduce it, but cannot increase it. A sentence of death cannot be carried into effect until approved by the President of the United States. Military laws must not be confounded with martial law, which in time of great emergency is put into effect by a government over a certain clearly defined part of its own territory. Here we have the case of a government dealing, not with its own military forces, as in military law; not with the territory and the subjects of an enemy government, as in the case of a military occupation, but with its own territory and its own citizens. The occasion for the exercise of martial law will more frequently arise in time of war than in time of peace because of the unsettled conditions naturally existing at such times. Its most frequent employment is in territory which is in revolt against the government. There were many examples of the establish ment of martial law in the Southern States during the Civil War of 1861- 1865; in some cases by a proclamation of the President; in others by the declaration of a commander in the field. While martial law gives wide powers to the military officers charged with its enforcement, and while it necessarily takes precedence of the local government normally exercising authority in the territory affected, it does not in ordinary cases set aside either the executive or the judicial authorities of the civil government or interfere with the normal life of the citizens. It is only when its decrees are resisted by the civil authorities, that entire control is taken over. Perhaps the most interesting chapter of military and martial law is the treatise drawn up in 1863 by General Francis Lieber, of the United States Army, and issued by the Federal Government for the guidance of its armies in the field. While the principles and the rules laid down in this treatise had long been recognized in theory by the military forces of enlightened nations, they had never before been gathered into a manual for the guidance of all concerned and given the formal sanction of a great power addressing its own armed forces while in the midst of a great war in which the passions of both sides were intensely and violently aroused. So logical, temperate, and humane were these rules that they have formed the basis of treatises promulgated in the last half century by all military powers, and observed by all with the single exception of Germany. MILITARY EDUCATION. The chief institution for military education in the United States is the United States Military Academy at West Point, N. Y. This school equals the best in Europe in thoroughness of preparation and in the wide range of the training given to military officers. After four years of intensive work the cadet begins his practical training when he is as assigned to his regiment, but his schooling does not cease, for there are officers' schools at every military post. In addition to these there are schools for the further instruction in special branches of the service. (1) the Engineer School, Washington Barracks, D. C.; (2) the Mounted Service School, Fort Riley, Kansas; (3) the Army Medical School, Washington, D. C.; (4) the Coast Artillery School at Fort Monroe, Va. At Fort Leavenworth, Kan., are situated the Army Staff College, the Army Signal School, the Army Field Engineer ineer Scho School, the Army School of the Lir Line, the Army Field Service and Correspondence School for Medical Officers. Finally at the head of all these schools and designed to give intensive work to the higher officers of the army is the Army War College at Washington, D. C. Nearly all of these schools are open to National Guard officers, and to graduates of military schools whose course of study has been approved by the Army General Staff. Military instruction is also furnished by many State Institutions, and by private schools. In recognition of the service a private military school renders the government, the General Staff details an officer to be stationed at the institution and direct the military work. There are two great military schools in England which are supported by the government, the Royal Military College at Sandhurst for cavalry and infantry cadets, and the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich for artillery and engineer cadets. The period of instruction in these schools is short-only two years, but on the other hand the examinations for entrance are very exacting and require considerable amount of college education to enable a student to pass. The expense to the cadet under the British system is considerable, and this with the high standard for entrance limits the cadets to one class of the population. France has also two great schools for military education, the Ecole Spéciale Militaire for cavalry and infantry at Saint-Cyr, and the Polytechnique at for Paris officers of the artillery and engineers. This latter school trains men also in the building of roads, bridges, naval construction, and many of the other scientific branches of the government. Entrance is by competitive examination and by a law passed in 1905 assed in 1905 all the successful candidates must serve one year in the ranks before taking up their two years' course in the schools. This is designed to democratize the Officers' Corps and prevent the formation of cliques of men such as were revealed in the Dreyfus case. Belgium follows much the same sysof tem military education as France, there being one school for officers of all arms of the service, the Ecole Militaire Welles at . Entrance is by competitive examinations.