ABA Journal: Military lawyers confront changes as sexual assault becomes big news
The ABA Journal reports:
But in the military, the commanding officers have that power and more. Although they don’t necessarily have law enforcement or legal training, commanding officers have discretion on whether to drop the charges, convene a court-martial or impose a less serious nonjudicial punishment. They receive advice from military prosecutors—and usually follow it, military attorneys say—but the final decision is theirs.
And when cases do go to a court-martial, commanding officers have absolute clemency power. The officer who convened a court-martial (called the convening authority) is able to throw out the resulting guilty verdict entirely, or reduce it as much as he or she pleases. No explanation is required. It’s a system based on the military’s culture of respect for the commanding officer, whose authority is thought to be vital to “good order and discipline.” Military observers say there’s no comparing civilian bosses to commanding officers because in the military, obeying orders can mean life or death.
