§830a Art. 30a. Proceedings conducted before referral

Summary

The President must make rules for actions that happen before charges are sent to a court-martial. The rules must cover things like pre-referral subpoenas; pre-referral warrants or orders for electronic communications; pre-referral matters sent by an appellate court; matters under subsection (c) or (e) of section 806b (article 6b); and pre-referral issues about pre-trial confinement, an accused person's mental capacity or responsibility, and requests for an individual military counsel. The rules must say what a military judge can decide and how those decisions can be reviewed. They must limit these proceedings so they only cover issues a military judge would handle at a general or special court-martial, and they must allow limits on the orders or remedies the President thinks appropriate. If a pre-referral issue becomes part of charges that are sent to a general or special court-martial, that issue must be moved to the military judge assigned to that court-martial. The Secretary in charge must make rules for how military judges are assigned to these proceedings, and under those rules a military judge (except in cases about electronic-communications warrants or orders) may name a military magistrate to run the proceeding.