MJ-016 · MILITARY JUSTICE
Victim Rights, Counsel & Article 6b Review
MJ-016: Article 6b creates statutory rights for qualifying victims and a specific enforcement route for certain rulings; service victims’ counsel programs add representation and implementation.
Start with the controlling authority
Working procedure
- Identify whether the person meets the statutory definition of victim for the right at issue.
- Preserve notices, election/representation records, counsel communications where disclosure is lawful, hearing requests, rulings, and any appellate petition.
- Distinguish the victim’s own rights from the prosecution’s interests and from command or investigative decisions.
- Identify the applicable service victims’ counsel program and independent representation route.
- For a petition to a CCA, verify the current statute, court rules, and deadline immediately.
Records to preserve
MREC-12 legal proceedings; MREC-14 review decisions; MREC-17 personal records subject to privacy/protection.
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.
