Washington Code 38.38.324 – Advice of state judge advocate and reference for trial
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(1) Before directing the trial of any charge by general court-martial, the convening authority shall refer it to the state judge advocate for consideration and advice. The convening authority may not refer a charge to a general court-martial for trial unless he or she has found that the charge alleges an offense under this code, is warranted by evidence indicated in the report of the investigation under RCW 38.38.316, if there is such a report, and the court-martial would have jurisdiction over the accused and the offense.
Terms Used In Washington Code 38.38.324
- Code: means this chapter. See Washington Code 38.38.004
- Convening authority: includes , in addition to the person who convened the court, a commissioned officer commanding for the time being, or a successor in command. See Washington Code 38.38.004
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Judge advocate: means an officer of the army or air national guard designated as a judge advocate by the judge advocate general of the army or the judge advocate general of the air force. See Washington Code 38.38.004
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Officer: means commissioned or warrant officer. See Washington Code 38.38.004
- State judge advocate: means the commissioned judge advocate officer responsible for supervising the administration of the military justice in the organized militia. See Washington Code 38.38.004
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
(2) The advice of the staff judge advocate under subsection (1) of this section with respect to a specification under a charge shall include a written and signed statement by the staff judge advocate:
(a) Expressing conclusions with respect to each matter set forth in subsection (1) of this section; and
(b) Recommending action that the convening authority take regarding the specification.
If the specification is referred for trial, the recommendation of the state judge advocate shall accompany the specification.
(3) If the charges or specifications are not formally correct or do not conform to the substance of the evidence contained in the report of the investigating officer, formal corrections, and such changes in the charges and specifications as are needed to make them conform to the evidence may be made.