2-6explains the rights of the accused. The legal officepersonnel will complete the remainder of the form.The next step in the processing of a report chit is forthe commanding officer to assign a junior officer orsenior petty officer to conduct a preliminary inquiry ofthe alleged offense(s). The results of the preliminaryinquiry then go to the executive officer’s inquiry (XOI),also known as a screening mast. At the XOI, theexecutive officer will either dismiss the report chit orforward it to the commanding officer for captain’s mast.At captain’s mast, the commanding officer will reviewthe report chit, the results of the preliminary inquiry, thestatements of the witnesses and the accused, and anyevidence connected with the case. The commandingofficer then will dismiss the case, award nonjudicialpunishment, or refer the case to a court-martial. If thepreliminary inquiry, XOI, or captain’s mast involves youin any way, your participation will be as a witness.The reverse side of the form concerns disposition ofthe case, preliminary investigation results andrecommendations, actions of the executive andcommanding officers, and final administrative action(appeal, service record entry, etc.).Rights of the AccusedOne area deserves special caution: preservation ofthe subject’s rights. Under article 31, UCMJ, an officialmust inform all suspects of the charges against them andof their right to remain silent. That official must advisesuspects that anything they say may be used as evidenceagainst them at a trial by court-martial. Under otherprovisions of law, a suspect also may have a right tolegal counsel before and during any interview. Theofficial must advise suspects of those rights and providethem with the opportunity to exercise those rights beforequestioning them. Failure to do so could prevent the useof self-incriminating statements made by suspects indisciplinary pro-ceedings. That could result in the loss ofthe entire case.You should not question any suspect, but shouldleave that task to personnel with proper training, such aslegal or law enforcement personnel. In some casesthough, you may have to question the person you areplacing on report about the offense(s) he or she allegedlycommitted. If this situation does occur, make sure youproperly advise that person of his or her rights underarticle 31 of the UCMJ.Remember that the report chit you start—the act ofplacing someone on report for violating the UCMJ—could eventually lead to a court-martial of that person.Courts-MartialBased on article 16 of the UCMJ, courts-martial areof three types—summary, special, and general. Thecaptain decides the type of court-martial to award basedon the nature, time, and place of the offense.A summary court-martial (SCM) consists of onecommissioned officer. If there is only one commissionedofficer with the command, that officer acts as thesummary court officer. A summary court can award anysentence that may be given at mast. It also can award theadditional punishments of confinement for 1 month, hardlabor without confinement for 45 days, restriction for 2months, or forfeiture of two-thirds pay per month for 1month.A special court-martial (SPCM) consists of not lessthan three members. The accused can request thatenlisted personnel serve on the court. In that event,enlisted personnel make up at least one third of the courtmembership. The accused has the right to consult witha defense counsel and to request that the court consist ofonly the military judge. A SPCM may award a moresevere punishment than a SCM. For example, it canaward a bad-conduct discharge, confinement for 6months, loss of two-thirds pay per month for 6 months,and hard labor without confinement for 3 months.A general court-martial (GCM) consists of amilitary judge and not less than five members. As in aspecial court-martial, the accused may request thatenlisted personnel serve on the court. Under theconditions described for a SPCM, the accused mayrequest that the court consist of only a military judge. AGCM can award any punishment not forbidden by theUCMJ, including death when specifically authorized forthe offense.All accused persons have the right to be representedbefore special and general courts-martial by defensecounsel. This counsel may be a civilian attorney, at theexpense of the accused, or a military attorney detailed torepresent the accused.
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