MJ-013 · MILITARY JUSTICE
Military Rules of Evidence
MJ-013: The Military Rules of Evidence govern admissibility in courts-martial and must be read from the correct MCM/amendment set.
Start with the controlling authority
Working procedure
- Identify the evidentiary issue by rule family: relevance/prejudice, privileges, witnesses, character, hearsay, experts, authentication, statements/confessions, searches/seizures, or victim-related evidence.
- Use the M.R.E. version applicable to the proceeding and check later executive-order amendments.
- Preserve notices, motions in limine, offers of proof, exhibits, expert requests/reports, objections, and rulings.
- Separate admissibility from the underlying truth or weight of the evidence.
- For appellate research, preserve the standard of review and prejudice analysis used by the reviewing court.
Records to preserve
MREC-12 legal proceedings; MREC-09 medical records when relevant; MREC-17 personal evidence with provenance.
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.
