Education
The Uniqueness of the Military Justice System: Things to Know
by John Gary
If you are in the military or you have gotten involved with the military in a legal manner, then you have probably been trying to figure out exactly how the military system works, especially when it comes to dealing with everything that the legal system is doing. That being said, how are you supposed to know what you can do in those cases? How can you make sure that you’re going to be able to take care of everything necessary so that your trial is fair? Here are some of the things you need to know about the military system.
Usually, you know what you are accused of before you even get your Miranda rights. But, as soon you are accused and you know, you’re protected under Article 31, which works even harder than Miranda rights at self-incrimination protection. That means that you’re going to have that protection right from the beginning, and you aren’t going to have to worry about anything that may be related to saying the wrong thing – this could save time and frustration during your trial.
In the military system, the only person that can bring witnesses is the accused and his or her attorney. Many times, people will try to lean the witnesses in their direction and it will be difficult to try and figure out how to actually get a fair and balanced trial. So, by having this in there, they have done all that they can in order to ensure that the rights of those who are actually in the trial are protected as much as they can. The military doesn’t want to condemn their own if that’s not the case, so they’ve taken a lot of precautions to prevent such a thing from becoming a problem.
Lastly, no matter whether you’re active or not, you’re under the law and its protections. The law is meant for all military, even veterans, who may be in an instance where they have to deal with legal things. That means that you have those same protections – which is the least that can be given to people who have given their time and life to such things in the military. You’ll have to talk to a lawyer to understand every bit of what you need to know, but at the same time, you’ve got a lot of protection that the ordinary, everyday citizen doesn’t have available to them during a legal problem.
No matter what you may be dealing with as a part of the military, you will definitely want to contact a Military Attorney in order to get help with your case. That way, you can feel confident that you’re going to get the help that you need and that you’re going to be able to get through your trial with as little stress and anxiety as you possibly can – and that’s what you want when you’re dealing with the military justice system in the first place.
