Maryland Code, PUBLIC SAFETY 13A-605
Terms Used In Maryland Code, PUBLIC SAFETY 13A-605
- Convening authority: includes :
(1) the person who convened the court; and
(2) (i) a commissioned officer commanding for the time being; or
(ii) a successor in command to the convening authority. See - 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 a commissioned officer of the organized state military forces who is a member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of a state:
(1) (i) certified or designated as a judge advocate in the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the Army, Air Force, Navy, or the Marine Corps or designated as a law specialist as an officer of the Coast Guard, or a reserve component of one of these; or
(ii) certified as a non-federally recognized judge advocate, under regulations adopted pursuant to this provision, by the senior judge advocate of the commander of the force in the state military forces of which the accused is a member, as competent to perform such military justice duties required by this code; or
(2) if no judge advocate certified under item (1) of this subsection is available, certified by a senior judge advocate of the commander of another force in the state military forces, as the convening authority directs. See - 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 a commissioned or warrant officer. See
- 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 convening authority may not refer a specification under a charge to a general court-martial for trial unless the convening authority has been advised in writing by a judge advocate that:
(i) the specification alleges an offense under this title;
(ii) the specification is warranted by the evidence indicated in the report of investigation under § 13A-603 of this subtitle if there is such a report; and
(iii) a court-martial would have jurisdiction over the accused and the offense.
(b) (1) The advice of the judge advocate under subsection (a) of this section with respect to a specification under a charge shall include a written and signed statement by the judge advocate:
(i) expressing conclusions with respect to each matter set forth in subsection (a) of this section; and
(ii) recommending action that the convening authority take regarding the specification.
(2) If the specification is referred for trial, the recommendation of the judge advocate shall accompany the specification.
(c) If the charges or specifications are not correct formally 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.