Chapter II.
Courts-Martial

Classification--Composition

3. COURTS-MARTIAL--Classification.--General, special, and summary courts-martial. (A.W. 3.)

4. COURTS-MARTIAL--Composition.

   1. Who may serve.--All officers in the military service of the United States, and officers of the Marine Corps when detached for service with the Army by order of the President, shall be competent to serve on courts-martial. (A.W. 4.)

      No distinction exists among the various classes of "officers in the military service of the United States" with respect to their competency to serve; but the term "officers" here refers to commissioned officers only. (A.W. 1.) Members of the Army Nurse Corps and warrant officers are therefore not competent to serve on courts-martial.

      For notes as to retired, reserve, and National Guard officers, see under A.W. 4, App. 1

      No officer shall be eligible to sit as a member of a general or special court-martial if he is the accuser (see 60) or a witness for the prosecution (see 59; A.W. 8, 9), or in case of a rehearing if he, was a member of the court which first heard the case (see 89; A.W. 50¹/2). Suspension from rank renders an officer ineligible to sit as a member of a court-martial.

      The availability of certain officers for detail may be restricted by regulations. See, for examples, AR 60-5 (Chaplains) and AR 170-10 (Officers at exempted stations).

   2. Number of members.--General courts-martial may consist of any number of officers not less than five (A.W. 5); special courts-martial of any number of officers not less than three (A.W. 6); and a summary court-martial shall consist of one officer (A.W. 7).

   3. Rank of members.-In no case shall an officer, when it can be avoided, be tried by officers inferior to him in rank (A.W. 16), or by those below him on the promotion list. Relative rank is determined as indicated in AR 600-15.

   4. Qualifications of members.--When appointing courts-martial the appointing authority shall detail as members thereof those officers of the command who, in his opinion, are best qualified for the duty by reason of age, training, experience, and judicial temperament; and

officers having less than two years' service shall not, if it can be avoided without manifest injury to the service, be appointed as members of courts-martial in excess of the minority membership thereof. (A.W. 4.)
5. Law member for general court-martial.--The authority appointing a general court-martial shall detail as one of the members thereof a law member, who shall be an officer of the Judge Advocate General's Department, except that when an officer of that department is not available for the purpose the appointing authority shall detail instead an officer of some other branch of the service selected by the appointing authority as specially qualified to perform the duties of law member. (A.W. 8.)

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