MJ-001 · MILITARY JUSTICE
UCMJ, Status & Court-Martial Jurisdiction
MJ-001: Start with the statutory code, the person’s UCMJ status, the offense date, the forum, and the jurisdictional basis before analyzing the merits.
Start with the controlling authority
Working procedure
- Identify the member’s component, duty status, dates of service, and any post-separation or reserve-status issue.
- Identify the alleged conduct date. Jurisdiction and offense text can be date-sensitive.
- Identify personal jurisdiction under Articles 2 and 3 and subject-matter jurisdiction under the applicable court-martial provisions.
- Identify the proposed or actual forum: summary, special, or general court-martial.
- Preserve orders, personnel status records, charge sheet, referral documents, convening order, and any jurisdictional motion or ruling.
Records to preserve
MREC-01 personnel files; MREC-04 orders/assignments; MREC-12 legal proceedings; MREC-14 decisions/appeals.
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.
