I am under the perhaps mistaken impression that when one is a member of the military, all crimes are prosecuted within the military justice system…that being a member of the military sets one outside general society.
For instance, murder your wife: court martial.
Drive drunk: court martial
Steal a bus: court martial
Rape: court martial
Tax cheat: court martial
All of the above supposes that you are committing these crimes outside military locations and against non-military persons. And if this IS the case, how does the investigation go? If the civilian police bust you for druink driving, do they just inform the military folk? What’s the dang deal, anyway?
If I am mistaken…please explain: which crimes fall under military jurisdiction and which do not, and how is the determination made?
The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) applies to all service members 24 hours a day/7days a week/365 days a year reagradless of where they are (at home on leave or shining the general’s shoes).
As for does a state get a chance to prosecute I’d say yes based on the following (it seems to imply that this is the case).
CAN A PERSON CONVICTED AND PUNISHED IN A STATE CIVILIAN COURT LATER BE PUNISHED FOR THE SAME CONDUCT IN THE MILITARY SYSTEM?
As a matter of law, yes, because constitutionally there is no double jeopardy or double punishment. Both the Federal government and a State may prosecute someone for the same conduct.
However, as a matter of policy, the military usually does not punish someone for an offense for which they have already been tried by a State court. The military can enter a civilian conviction in the member’s personnel record, suspend various privileges, require alcohol or drug screening, etc. (These are administrative matters and are not considered disciplinary or criminal penalties.)
Jurisdiction is generally determined by the location of the crime, and by local agreements. Live in on-post quarters? Service member murders their spouse? It could be tried under UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) in a court martial, but generally would be turned over to the local DA. Non-active duty spouse murders their active duty spouse. This always would go to the DA. If the crime occurred off post it always would go to the local DA. Any crime that is only a crime because of miltary status (conduct unbecoming an officer, AWOL, insubordination) would always be tried in a court martial under UCMJ; other crimes (DWI, shoplifting, drug selling, burglary) could be tried either in a court martial or in district court. Usually, they would be tried in a court martial.
Overseas, things get even more complicated. Even off-post crimes can fall under the jurisdiction of a court martial if that is what the SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) calls for. Remember the Navy/Marines accused of raping an Okinawan school girl? The problem in allowing such cases to be tried in local courts is that there are legitimate fears that “we all look alike” to the locals - in other words, Americans did this, Americans should pay, without being too picky about whether the right Americans pay… So the accused individuals were tried and found guilty in a court martial, and AFAIK, are still serving their sentences out in US federal prison.
The Marines were turned over to the Okinawans because that was what the SOFA called for. But SOFA’s vary from host country to host country, so I’ll just fall back upon my earier statement that overseas, things get even more complicated.
The links were informative, Another County Heard From, but if you’ll look at the bottom of the page you quoted, you’ll see that it’s copywrited, and they don’t explicitly give permission to use it. It’s OK to quote a brief excerpt from copywrited material, but what you quoted was longer than an excerpt. I would have just shortened it, but I wasn’t sure which part you wanted to emphasize.
One copywrite-infringement lawsuit could kill this website. Don’t risk it for all of us.
Note re: internet copyright infringement. Under the law, a request to cease infringing must be made before any lawsuit can be filed. As long as it is complied with, that’s the end of the story.
So, no, it’s unlikely that any single infringement is going to kill this website. Especially when the site shows such a considered respect for the law in all their dealings.
The US has agreements with a number of countries whereas a military person, when apprehended for certain crimes, is turned over to US military authorities for 24 hours. At that time, the US authorities have several options. They can try the person themselves, turn them back over to the foreign goverment for trial, or get the person out of there ASAP.
This often happens in places like Germany or Turkey when, say, the person gets busted for what might be a minor offense under US law but would carry a huge sentence if found guilty under foreign law (read: small amounts of drugs).
During my time in the Army, we “extricated” several people who were busted for hashish. They stood to spend 10 years in a German prison, but less than 2 years under US law. Those guys were flown out on the next flight with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Of course, they were prosecuted back in the states, but that was a hell of alot better than doing a decade in the Mannheim prison.
IANAL, but I was legal officer for my ship for over two years when I was in the Navy, so I’m pretty familiar with UCMJ practices circa 1990-93.
Usually, if a servicemember commits a crime that falls within the sovereignty of a state or the federal (non-DOD) government, the relevant military authority will let the other sovereign handle it. Shoplifting or petty theft would be good examples: if the local cops arrest you for the crime, they’ll be allowed to prosecute and punish as necessary. The perp’s active duty status (and pay) will be suspended upon conviction and until release.
However, as soon as s/he’s released from local custody, they go right back into military custody. Usually they’ll just be processed out of the service and sent home, but it’s certainly possible for the person to be court-martialed and punished a second time for the same crime. This would only be done in the case of a particularly offensive crime, or where the service wants to make an example of the person.