MJ-022 · MILITARY JUSTICE
Military Justice Dockets, Filings & Public Records
MJ-022: Article 140a creates a public-access and preservation framework, but each service implements access through its own court/docket systems and applies privacy, sealing, classification, and redaction rules.
Start with the controlling authority
- Article 140a
- Army Court-Martial Public Record System
- Department of the Air Force public docket
- Navy-Marine Corps filings & records
- Coast Guard Military Justice
Working procedure
- Identify service, accused/case name, docket number if known, trial location, and date range.
- Search the service trial docket and public-record portal separately from the service appellate court.
- Preserve the public URL, retrieval date, docket data, filenames, and redaction status.
- Do not infer guilt from a charge sheet, preferral, hearing schedule, or docket entry.
- If a document is absent, distinguish ‘not publicly posted’ from ‘does not exist’; consider FOIA, records-of-trial requests, or service clerk procedures where appropriate.
Records to preserve
MREC-12 legal proceedings; MREC-18 source catalog/preservation.
Version and service discipline
Military justice is version-sensitive. Match the offense date, procedural date, service, forum, and filing date to the governing statute, MCM/R.C.M./M.R.E. version, presidential amendments, service regulation, and court rules. The 2024 MCM must be checked against later operative amendments before treating it as complete current procedure.
