Military Military Law 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the legal standard required to convict a servicemember at a court-martial?
- Preponderance of the evidence
- Clear and convincing evidence
- Beyond a reasonable doubt (Correct answer)
- Probable cause
Correct answer: Beyond a reasonable doubt
Like civilian criminal courts, courts-martial require proof beyond a reasonable doubt to convict.
Question 2: Which appellate court reviews all general court-martial cases where the sentence includes a punitive discharge or more than one year of confinement?
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
- Service Court of Criminal Appeals (Correct answer)
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. District Court
Correct answer: Service Court of Criminal Appeals
Each branch's Court of Criminal Appeals (e.g., ACCA, NMCCA) automatically reviews qualifying general court-martial cases.
Question 3: Under the UCMJ, which article addresses conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman?
- Article 132
- Article 133 (Correct answer)
- Article 134
- Article 135
Correct answer: Article 133
Article 133 prohibits conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, applicable only to commissioned officers.
Question 4: What is the statute of limitations for most non-capital offenses under the UCMJ?
- 2 years
- 3 years
- 5 years (Correct answer)
- 7 years
Correct answer: 5 years
The UCMJ generally requires that charges for non-capital offenses be preferred within five years of the offense.
Question 5: Which defense is available when a servicemember commits an offense under an order they reasonably believed to be lawful?
- Defense of necessity
- Obedience to orders defense (Correct answer)
- Duress defense
- Ignorance of law defense
Correct answer: Obedience to orders defense
A servicemember may raise obedience to orders as a defense if they had a reasonable belief the order was lawful.
Question 6: Non-judicial punishment (NJP) under Article 15 may be refused by a servicemember and replaced with what?
- Administrative discharge
- Inspector General review
- Trial by court-martial (Correct answer)
- Reduction in grade only
Correct answer: Trial by court-martial
A servicemember may refuse NJP (except aboard a vessel) and demand trial by court-martial instead.
Question 7: Which military law concept describes the commander's power to restore a punished servicemember's rank or pay?
- Clemency (Correct answer)
- Parole
- Amnesty
- Commutation
Correct answer: Clemency
Clemency refers to a convening authority or reviewing authority mitigating, suspending, or remitting a sentence.
Military Military Law 4
What is the legal standard required to convict a servicemember at a court-martial?