This page defines the terms, abbreviations, and slang used in a court-martial. Some terms are from the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), the Rules for Courts-Martial (RCM), or the Military Rules of Evidence (MRE). Other terms are courtroom shorthand lawyers will use without pausing to explain their meaning to the client. The terms are grouped by the stage of the case where they tend to come up, from investigation through appeal. A service member facing a court-martial should be able to follow what’s being said about the case.
Military Investigation Terms
Before the formal court-martial process begins, investigators, prosecutors, and commands operate under their own set of procedures and shorthand.
- Subject: The target of the investigation. If court-martial charges are served, the target becomes “the accused.”
- Article 31(b): Your right to remain silent under the UCMJ. Broader than civilian Miranda rights. These rights apply whenever anyone under military authority (“subject to the UCMJ”) wants to question you about possible misconduct.
- OSI, CID, NCIS, CGIS: The criminal investigators. Some agents are civilians, some are in the military, but they all wear civilian clothes. The branches have different names for the agencies: OSI in the Air Force and Space Force; CID in the Army; NCIS in the Navy and Marine Corps; and CGIS in the Coast Guard.
- Base police: The uniformed law enforcement personnel seen on base. They handle patrol, traffic, and gate security and have investigative jurisdiction over lower-level offenses. They go by different names by branch: the Army and Marine Corps use Military Police, the Air Force and Space Force use Security Forces, the Navy uses Master-at-Arms (installation units are often called Navy Security Forces), and the Coast Guard uses Coast Guard Police ashore, with Maritime Enforcement Specialist as the enlisted law-enforcement rating.
- OSTC: Office of Special Trial Counsel. An independent prosecution office outside the chain of command. For a group of serious offenses called covered offenses, OSTC decides whether the case gets charged and whether it goes to trial. OSTC gets involved during the investigation, has some influence over what the agents do, and is the office defense counsel deals with before a charging decision gets made.
- Search authorization: The military version of a warrant. A commander or military magistrate issues the authorization. It has to be rendered in writing at some point, but it can be given orally at first.
- ROI: Report of investigation. The law enforcement report: witness statements, forensic reports, crime scene photos, agent summaries, and so on.
- Apprehension: Sometimes used as the word for arrest. Taking you into custody.
- Pretrial restraint: The commander imposes limits on the subject that don’t amount to pretrial confinement, such as restriction to the barracks.
- Pretrial confinement: The commander orders the subject to be jailed before trial. Time served counts against any sentence imposed at trial. A hearing is held to determine whether the commander’s decision should be overturned.
- Appointed counsel: The free military defense lawyer through JAG. Known as TDS in the Army, ADC in the Air Force, and DSO in the Navy and Marine Corps.
- Civilian counsel: A lawyer you hire. Leads the defense team but works with the appointed JAG counsel.
Court-Martial Charging Terms
Entering an allegation and the accused into the formal court-martial process involves specific steps. These terms describe how allegations become charges, how charges are served on the accused, how they are referred to trial, and who has the decision-making authority.
- Covered offenses: The UCMJ offenses OSTC has exclusive purview over: Articles 117a, 118, 119, 119a, 120, 120a, 120b, 120c, 125, 128b, 130, 132, and the Article 134 child pornography and sexual harassment offenses. Commanders keep authority over everything else.
- Deferral: OSTC declines to go forward, sending the case to the command. The command can then handle it administratively, and in some services can recharge the conduct under a non-covered article.
- Preferral: The formal accusation, made on paper. Somebody “swears to” the charges and you get a copy.
- Preferred: Charged.
- The sheet: The charge sheet. DD Form 458.
- Charge: The article of the UCMJ listed on the charge sheet. Crimes within the UCMJ are listed as “articles.”
- Specification: One allegation within a charge. One allegation under a charge can have several specifications. The accused can be convicted on some specifications and acquitted on others. A conviction of any specification under a charge will also mean the accused is guilty of the charge itself.
- SJ: Staff judge advocate, who is the senior lawyer advising a commander.
- Convening authority: The commander who sends a case to trial and details the panel. In covered offense cases, OSTC has this authority instead.
Article 32 Preliminary Hearing Terms
Before charges can proceed to a general court-martial, the government must demonstrate that the evidence meets the probable cause standard. The hearing officer also recommends what should happen to the case, though that recommendation isn’t binding. These terms define the preliminary hearing process, the roles of the officers involved, and the handling of disposition recommendations.
- Article 32: The preliminary hearing required before charges can go to a general court-martial. A hearing officer reviews evidence, decides whether there’s probable cause, and recommends what should happen to the case. The accused can waive this hearing but shouldn’t.
- PHO: Preliminary hearing officer. The JAG (sometimes a military judge) who conducts the hearing and writes the report.
- Disposition: An opinion about what should happen with the case. The PHO recommends a course of action, but the recommendation isn’t binding.
- Referral: The decision to send the charges to trial. Comes after the 32.
- Referred: The case has been sent to the trial.
Pretrial Court-Martial Terms
The period between referral and trial involves critical procedural battles over evidence, discovery, and scheduling. These terms cover the hearings, motions, and closed-door conferences that are part of the court-martial process.
- Arraignment: The quick hearing where the charges are read, and you plead. The plea is always not guilty at this stage.
- Oath: Civilian counsel get sworn in at least once before appearing. The accused gets sworn in if he’s pleading guilty or testifying.
- 39(a): A hearing without the panel, named after Article 39(a). Motions get argued, the judge rules on evidence, scheduling gets sorted. There are usually several.
- 802: A conference between the judge and both counsel off the record, named after R.C.M. 802. Issues commonly discussed are scheduling, logistics, witness issues, security, and administrative housekeeping. Nothing decided in an 802 is part of the court-martial until it’s put on the record in open court.
- Discovery: What each side has to turn over to the other. The government’s obligation is broader than the defense’s.
- Motion to dismiss: Asking the judge to throw out a charge.
- Motion for appropriate relief: Asking the judge to fix a problem short of dismissal.
- Speedy trial: Rules that limit how long the government can take to bring a case to court-martial. The clock starts at preferral or when you’re placed in pretrial confinement. There are other case-processing metrics the government has to be mindful of, but they’re not governed by court-martial rules.
- Deposition: Sworn testimony taken before trial when a witness won’t be available. Common in civilian civil litigation but very rare in military justice.
- Immunity: A promise not to use someone’s testimony against them when they’re forced to testify.
- Stipulation: An agreement between both sides that a fact is true or that a document is what it claims to be. Saves the time and effort of having a witness testify to undisputed issues.
- Stipulation of expected testimony: A different thing. Both sides agree on what a witness would say if he were called, but nobody agrees the testimony is true. The panel hears it and decides what it’s worth.
- Randomization: The 39(a) where the judge (often through the court reporter) draws numbers to set the order members get called during voir dire.
- Confinement bag: The bag you have to fill with checklist items and bring to court in case you go to jail. Underwear, socks, and the like. It’s considered bad luck if you don’t bring the bag to your court-martial.
Courtroom Personnel Terms
Here’s a breakdown of the key personnel involved in a court-martial proceeding.
- ACC: The accused. You. The judge, the prosecutors, and your own lawyer will all use the term “accused” during court-martial proceedings, and in the written script it’s abbreviated as ACC. In civilian court, the term is “defendant.”
- MJ: The military judge.
- TC and ATC: Trial counsel and assistant trial counsel—the prosecutors. In a covered offense case, they work for OSTC.
- The government: The prosecution.
- DC and ADC: Defense counsel and assistant defense counsel.
- Complaining witness: The person who made the allegation. The government and the SVC will refer to this person as the victim. A defense lawyer will likely say “complaining witness” or “alleged victim,” or use the person’s name and rank if they’re in the military.
- SVC or VLC: Special victims’ counsel or victims’ legal counsel. The alleged victim’s lawyer. Not a prosecutor, but aligned with the prosecution.
- Members: The panel, the military equivalent of a jury.
- Court reporter: Sits near the military judge, essentially runs the mechanical aspects of a court-martial. Oversees exhibits, records the proceedings, and ensures recording equipment and other technical elements are running correctly. Also assembles the transcript.
- Bailiff: A service member detailed to the court, at least equal in rank to the accused. Calls out “All rise!” and escorts the panel. Handles various assignments from the military judge.
- Fact-finder: Whoever evaluates evidence and witness credibility to decide what happened. If it’s a panel, the members are the fact-finders. If the accused elects to be tried by the military judge alone, the judge is the fact-finder.
- Experts: Witnesses who testify about something technical like digital forensics, toxicology, medical treatment, or DNA.
- Chasers: The uniformed escorts who take the accused to confinement if the sentence includes jail time. They will bring the accused from confinement to the courtroom if the accused is already in pretrial confinement. They aren’t part of the court-martial; they sit in the gallery or remain outside the door.
Military Trial Terms
The trial itself follows strict rules governing how evidence is introduced, objections are handled, and the verdict is reached. These terms describe courtroom operations and procedures during the contested findings phase.
- Findings: The verdict. Guilty or not guilty on each specification. Also, the phase of the trial where those issues are decided.
- Voir dire: Jury selection. Counsel questions the members to determine if they can be fair.
- Quorum: The minimum number of members needed for the court to proceed.
- Challenge for cause: During voir dire, the parties can ask the judge to remove a member for a stated reason.
- Peremptory: During voir dire, removing a member without a reason. Strictly limited.
- Litigated: Contested. Any part of the case the parties will fight over can be referred to as “litigated.”
- On the record: The formal record, recorded and run by the court reporter.
- Off the record: Not part of the record.
- On cross: Refers to something that was said or is expected to be said by a witness during cross-examination, meaning the questioning of a witness the other side called.
- On direct: Refers to something a witness said or is expected to say during the witness’s testimony, meaning the questioning of a party’s own witness.
- VTC: Video teleconference. A witness testifies by video instead of appearing in person. Common when the witness is deployed or overseas.
- Telephonic testimony: A witness testifies by phone. Rare during findings, common at sentencing.
- Objection: A lawyer telling the judge that a question, argument, or some form of evidence breaks a rule. The attorney objecting simply says the word, “Objection,” and then waits for the judge’s response. The judge can rule on the objection immediately if the drift of the objection was clear, or invite the attorney to elaborate. The other side usually gets a chance to respond. The judge either sustains the objection or overrules it.
- Sustained: The judge agreed with the objection.
- Overruled: The judge disagreed with the objection.
- Improper argument: A prosecutor crossing the line in closing: commenting on your silence, vouching for a witness, inflaming the panel, arguing facts not in evidence. It can be grounds for appeal.
- 917: An R.C.M. 917 motion is a request for a military judge to enter a finding of not guilty because the prosecution’s evidence is not enough to prove the charge. This motion is made after the prosecution rests its case.
- Mistrial: The judge stops the trial because something happened that can’t be fixed.
- Contempt: Punishment for disrupting the proceedings or disrespecting the military judge. Typically refers to attorney behavior: Rare in the military.
- Recess: A break. Could be any amount of time or the rest of the day. A “recess in place” is a break in the court-martial when everyone stays in the courtroom.
- Instructions: What the judge reads to the panel before they deliberate: the elements of the crime, relevant definitions, and the burden of proof.
- Deliberation: When the verdict and sentence are decided. For the verdict, the panel goes to a closed room and discusses the evidence together; when the judge is the fact-finder, the judge deliberates alone. The judge determines sentencing, so there’s no group discussion at that stage. The judge deliberates alone to determine the sentence.
- Deliberation room: Where the panel makes its decisions. In a judge-alone case, there’s no panel, so the defense often uses it as a war room. Judges deliberate in their chambers.
- Announcement of findings: The president of the panel (or the military judge in a judge-alone case) reads the verdict aloud, one charge and specification at a time.
Guilty Plea Terms
Resolving a case through a negotiated agreement or an admission of guilt requires a detailed on-the-record inquiry. These terms define the process and common military slang associated with entering a guilty plea.
- Care inquiry / Providency: If there’s a guilty plea, the judge questions the accused at length about what happened and why the accused believes it constitutes a crime. The process is referred to as a “Care inquiry” or “providency,” but those terms mean the same thing. The military judge needs to make sure the plea is “provident,” meaning the accused understands the charges, is pleading voluntarily, and everything adds up to the alleged offense. “Care” refers to the name of a case, not the degree of attention being paid by the military judge.
- Plea agreement: A deal to plead guilty in exchange for reduced charges, sentence protection, a lower forum, or a combination of things.
- Naked plea: When the accused pleads guilty without a plea agreement.
- Dive: Navy and Marine Corps slang for a guilty plea session.
- Bareback special: A plea agreement that sends the case to a special court-martial with no sentencing limits written into the deal. The protection is the forum itself, since a special court-martial caps confinement at one year and a bad-conduct discharge.
Court-Martial Sentencing Terms
If a court-martial results in a conviction, the proceeding immediately shifts to determining an appropriate punishment. These terms cover how mitigation and aggravation evidence is presented and how the military judge determines the sentence.
- Sentencing: The hearing after a conviction where the judge decides the punishment. Your lawyer will say “we’ll deal with that at sentencing,” meaning the fight over how bad it gets is separate from the fight over guilt. It starts the same day the verdict comes in.
- E&M: Extenuation and mitigation. The defense presents matters that tend to lessen the severity of the misconduct (context), and positive aspects of the accused’s service, family life, rehabilitation potential, and other factors that might incline the military judge to impose a softer sentence.
- Aggravation: The prosecution presents matters concerning the misconduct, the victim, or others to persuade the military judge to impose a harsher sentence.
- Sentencing parameters: The expected confinement range for the offense. The judge can go outside the range under limited conditions.
- Adjudge: The military judge’s act of imposing a sentence.
- Entry of judgment: The document the military judge signs and enters into the system, formally ending the case at the trial level.
- Post-trial relief: Requests made to the military judge or convening authority after the sentence, such as extra confinement credit or deferment of forfeitures.
Court-Martial Appeal Terms
The military justice process often continues after the military judge enters judgment. These terms describe post-trial relief, clemency requests, and the military appellate courts that review convictions for legal error.
- Record of trial: The transcript and exhibits. What an appellate court reads.
- Clemency: Asking for a reduction in the sentence.
- Appellate leave: Leave without pay after a punitive discharge is adjudged, while the appeal runs. Some benefits might be available, like medical treatment.
- CCA: Court of Criminal Appeals. Each service has its own appellate court. This is the first level of appeal. The judges are military members.
- CAAF: Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. The top appellate court in the military. Its judges are civilians. Reviews selected cases from the CCAs.
- Rehearing: A new trial on findings, sentence, or both, ordered after an appeal.
Gagne, Scherer & Associates: Experienced Court-Martial Lawyers
As former JAG prosecutors and defense counsel, Gagne, Scherer & Associates represents service members facing court-martial investigations, preferral, and trial across the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, and Coast Guard worldwide. For over 20 years, our attorneys have provided clear, plain-English legal analysis on Article 120, Article 128b, OSTC’s covered offenses, and administrative separation boards from the initial consultation through findings and sentencing. Call (224) 935-6172 for a confidential case evaluation.