| Recommendation Number | Description | Recommendation & Status | Action |
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Randomizing Court-Martial Panel Member Selection Randomizing Court Martial Panel Member Selection: A Report on Improving an Outdated System R-53 Dec 2023 |
(Congress) Amend Article 25(e | Recommendation 53: Congress should amend Article 25(e) to remove the requirement for the convening authority to detail members who “in his opinion, are best qualified” based on “age, education, training, experience, length of service, and judicial temperament.” IMPLEMENTATION: No response from Congress as of Jan. 2024. | No action |
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Randomizing Court Martial Panel Member Selection: A Report on Improving an Outdated System R-54 Dec 2023 |
(Congress) Amend Article 25(e)(4) | Recommendation 54: Congress should retain the Article 25(e) (4) requirement for the convening authority to detail members randomly selected under regulations prescribed by the President. The qualifying words “to the maximum extent practicable” should be removed. IMPLEMENTATION: No response from Congress as of Jan. 2024. | No action |
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Randomizing Court Martial Panel Member Selection: A Report on Improving an Outdated System R-55 Dec 2023 |
(DoD and President) JSC should draft an amendment to the R C M | Recommendation 55: The Joint Service Committee on Military Justice should draft an amendment to the Rules for Courts Martial, pursuant to the requirement in Article 25(e)(4), to provide for a randomized court-martial panel member selection process utilizing the Military Services’ personnel and pay systems to select the members. This process should preclude the convening authority or other members of command or the judge advocate office from hand selecting members. In addition to the statutory qualification requirements, the randomized selection process should provide for diversity of members based on grade. IMPLEMENTATION: No response from DoD as of Jan. 2024. | |
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Randomizing Court Martial Panel Member Selection: A Report on Improving an Outdated System R-56 Dec 2023 |
(DoD) SecDef should direct a pilot program to create a court administrator position | Recommendation 56: The Secretary of Defense should direct that a pilot project be initiated to create a court administrator position to be responsible for the panel member selection process—rather than the staff judge advocate or command staff. IMPLEMENTATION: No response from DoD as of Jan. 2024. | No action |
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Randomizing Court Martial Panel Member Selection: A Report on Improving an Outdated System R-57 Dec 2023 |
(Congress) Amend Article 25 | Recommendation 57: Congress should amend Article 25 to explicitly give convening authorities the authority to determine whether randomly selected Service members are available prior to being detailed to a court-martial panel and retain the authority in Article 25 to exempt or excuse individuals for operational requirements or personal reasons after they have been detailed. IMPLEMENTATION: No response from Congress as of Jan. 2024. | No action |
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Randomizing Court Martial Panel Member Selection: A Report on Improving an Outdated System R-58 Dec 2023 |
(DoD and President) JSC should draft an amendment to the R C M | Recommendation 58: The Joint Service Committee on Military Justice should draft an amendment to the Rules for Courts Martial to provide a transparent method for convening authorities to document availability and excusal determinations. IMPLEMENTATION: No response from DoD as of Jan. 2024. | No action |
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Randomizing Court Martial Panel Member Selection: A Report on Improving an Outdated System R-59 Dec 2023 |
(Congress) Amend Article 25 | Recommendation 60: Congress should amend Article 25 to add a two-year time-in-service requirement for court-martial panel member eligibility. For Service Academy cadets and midshipman, the calculation of time in service would commence upon commissioning. IMPLEMENTATION: No response from Congress as of Jan. 2024. | No action |
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Randomizing Court Martial Panel Member Selection: A Report on Improving an Outdated System R-61 Dec 2023 |
(DoD and President) JSC should draft an amendment to the R C M | Recommendation 61: The Joint Service Committee on Military Justice should draft an amendment to the Rules for Courts Martial to establish uniform criteria for automatic exemption from serving as a court-martial member. For example, federal courts require jury members to be proficient in English, have no disqualifying mental or physical condition, and not be subject to felony charges or be convicted of a felony. The amendment should delegate authority to each Military Department Secretary to promulgate regulations that establish additional bases for automatic exemption. To ensure maximum transparency, any additional exempting criteria established by the Military Departments should be made public through the Federal Register and by other appropriate means. IMPLEMENTATION: No response from DoD as of Jan. 2024. | No action |
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Randomizing Court Martial Panel Member Selection: A Report on Improving an Outdated System R-62 December 2023 |
(Congress) Amend Article 25(e)(2) and (3) | Recommendation 62: Congress should amend Article 25(e)(2) and (3) to remove the requirement that the convening authority detail panel members at the time the court-martial is convened. Instead, it should provide that the convening authority must detail panel members within a reasonable time prior to the swearing in of the detailed members and the assembly of the court-martial. IMPLEMENTATION: No response from Congress as of Jan. 2024. | No action |