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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 825. Art. 25. Who may serve on courts-martial
(a) Any commissioned officer on active duty is eligible to serve
on all courts-martial for the trial of any person who may lawfully
be brought before such courts for trial.
(b) Any warrant officer on active duty is eligible to serve on
general and special courts-martial for the trial of any person,
other than a commissioned officer, who may lawfully be brought
before such courts for trial.
(c)(1) Any enlisted member of an armed force on active duty who
is not a member of the same unit as the accused is eligible to
serve on general and special courts-martial for the trial of any
enlisted member of an armed force who may lawfully be brought
before such courts for trial, but he shall serve as a member of a
court only if, before the conclusion of a session called by the
military judge under section 839(a) of this title (article 39(a))
prior to trial or, in the absence of such a session, before the
court is assembled for the trial of the accused, the accused
personally has requested orally on the record or in writing that
enlisted members serve on it. After such a request, the accused may
not be tried by a general or special court-martial the membership
of which does not include enlisted members in a number comprising
at least, one-third of the total membership of the court, unless
eligible enlisted members cannot be obtained on account of physical
conditions or military exigencies. If such members cannot be
obtained, the court may be assembled and the trial held without
them, but the convening authority shall make a detailed written
statement, to be appended to the record, stating why they could not
be obtained.
(2) In this article, "unit" means any regularly organized body as
defined by the Secretary concerned, but in no case may it be a body
larger than a company, squadron, ship's crew, or body corresponding
to one of them.
(d)(1) When it can be avoided, no member of an armed force may be
tried by a court-martial any member of which is junior to him in
rank or grade.
(2) When convening a court-martial, the convening authority shall
detail as members thereof such members of the armed forces as, in
his opinion, are best qualified for the duty by reason of age,
education, training, experience, length of service, and judicial
temperament. No member of an armed force is eligible to serve as a
member of a general or special court-martial when he is the accuser
or a witness for the prosecution or has acted as investigating
officer or as counsel in the same case.
(e) Before a court-martial is assembled for the trial of a case,
the convening authority may excuse a member of the court from
participating in the case. Under such regulations as the Secretary
concerned may prescribe, the convening authority may delegate his
authority under this subsection to his staff judge advocate or
legal officer or to any other principal assistant.
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