Title 10 — Armed ForcesRelease 119-73
§838 Art. 38. Duties of trial counsel and defense counsel
Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— - General Military Law › Part PART II— - PERSONNEL › Chapter CHAPTER 47— - UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER VII— - TRIAL PROCEDURE › § 838
Summary
Trial counsel must bring charges for the United States and, under the court’s direction, prepare the official record of the case. An accused person has the right to a lawyer at a general or special court-martial and at the preliminary hearing under section 832 (article 32). The accused may hire a civilian lawyer. The accused may use military counsel assigned under section 827 (article 27) or a military lawyer they choose if that lawyer is “reasonably available” under rules the Secretary sets. If a civilian lawyer is used, the assigned military lawyer will normally serve as associate counsel unless the accused asks they be excused. The accused normally gets only one military counsel, but the person who assigns counsel may add assistants or allow the assigned lawyer to serve as associate counsel if asked. The Secretary must define “reasonably available,” set the process to decide it, avoid blocking a lawyer just because they are from a different service, try for uniform rules across the services, and send those rules to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees. If there is a conviction, defense counsel may add a brief to the record for review, help with matters under sections 860, 860a, and 860b (articles 60, 60a, 60b), and take other actions allowed by law. An assistant trial counsel for a general court-martial may carry out trial counsel duties under direction or when qualified; an assistant trial counsel for a special court-martial may perform any trial counsel duty. An assistant defense counsel may perform any duties required of counsel for the accused.
Full Legal Text
Title 10, §838
Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)The trial counsel of a general or special court-martial shall prosecute in the name of the United States, and shall, under the direction of the court, prepare the record of the proceedings.
(b)(1)The accused has the right to be represented in his defense before a general or special court-martial or at a preliminary hearing under section 832 of this title (article 32) as provided in this subsection.
(2)The accused may be represented by civilian counsel if provided by him.
(3)The accused may be represented—
(A)by military counsel detailed under section 827 of this title (article 27); or
(B)by military counsel of his own selection if that counsel is reasonably available (as determined under regulations prescribed under paragraph (7)).
(4)If the accused is represented by civilian counsel, military counsel detailed or selected under paragraph (3) shall act as associate counsel unless excused at the request of the accused.
(5)Except as provided under paragraph (6), if the accused is represented by military counsel of his own selection under paragraph (3)(B), any military counsel detailed under paragraph (3)(A) shall be excused.
(6)The accused is not entitled to be represented by more than one military counsel. However, the person authorized under regulations prescribed under section 827 of this title (article 27) to detail counsel, in his sole discretion—
(A)may detail additional military counsel as assistant defense counsel; and
(B)if the accused is represented by military counsel of his own selection under paragraph (3)(B), may approve a request from the accused that military counsel detailed under paragraph (3)(A) act as associate defense counsel.
(7)The Secretary concerned shall, by regulation, define “reasonably available” for the purpose of paragraph (3)(B) and establish procedures for determining whether the military counsel selected by an accused under that paragraph is reasonably available. Such regulations may not prescribe any limitation based on the reasonable availability of counsel solely on the grounds that the counsel selected by the accused is from an armed force other than the armed force of which the accused is a member. To the maximum extent practicable, such regulations shall establish uniform policies among the armed forces while recognizing the differences in the circumstances and needs of the various armed forces. The Secretary concerned shall submit copies of regulations prescribed under this paragraph to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives.
(c)In any court-martial proceeding resulting in a conviction, the defense counsel—
(1)may forward for attachment to the record of proceedings a brief of such matters as he determines should be considered in behalf of the accused on review (including any objection to the contents of the record which he considers appropriate);
(2)may assist the accused in the submission of any matter under section 860, 860a, or 860b of this title (article 60, 60a, or 60b); and
(3)may take other action authorized by this chapter.
(d)An assistant trial counsel of a general court-martial may, under the direction of the trial counsel or when he is qualified to be a trial counsel as required by section 827 of this title (article 27), perform any duty imposed by law, regulation, or the custom of the service upon the trial counsel of the court. An assistant trial counsel of a special court-martial may perform any duty of the trial counsel.
(e)An assistant defense counsel of a general or special court-martial may perform any duty imposed by law, regulation, or the custom of the service upon counsel for the accused.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 838(a)838(b)838(c)50:613(a).50:613(b).50:613(c).May 5, 1950, ch. 169, § 1 (Art. 38), 64 Stat. 120. 838(d)50:613(d). 838(e)50:613(e). In subsection (b), the word “has” is substituted for the words “shall have”. The word “under” is substituted for the words “pursuant to”. The word “duly” is omitted as surplusage. The words “detailed” and “who were detailed” are substituted for the word “appointed”, since the filling of the position involved is not appointment to an office in the constitutional sense. In subsection (c), the word “considers” is substituted for the words “may deem”.
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2017—Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 115–91 substituted “section 860, 860a, or 860b of this title (article 60, 60a, or 60b)” for “section 860 of this title (article 60)”. 2016—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 114–328 struck out “, under the direction of the defense counsel or when he is qualified to be the defense counsel as required by section 827 of this title (article 27),” after “court-martial may”. 2013—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 113–66 substituted “a preliminary hearing under section 832” for “an investigation under section 832”. 1999—Subsec. (b)(7). Pub. L. 106–65 substituted “and the Committee on Armed Services” for “and the Committee on National Security”. 1996—Subsec. (b)(7). Pub. L. 104–106 substituted “Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on National Security of the House of Representatives” for “Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives”. 1983—Subsec. (b)(6). Pub. L. 98–209, § 3(e)(1), substituted “the person authorized under
Regulations
prescribed under section 827 of this title (article 27) to detail counsel” for “a convening authority”. Subsec. (b)(7). Pub. L. 98–209, § 3(e)(2), inserted provision that such
Regulations
may not prescribe any limitation based on the reasonable availability of counsel solely on the grounds that the counsel selected by the accused is from an armed force other than the armed force of which the accused is a member. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 98–209, § 3(e)(3), designated existing provisions as par. (1), made minor changes in phraseology and punctuation, and added pars. (2) and (3). 1981—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 97–81 revised subsec. (b) by dividing its provisions into seven numbered paragraphs and inserted provisions relating to the right to counsel at an investigation under section 832 of this title (article 32), authorizing the promulgation of
Regulations
relating to the “reasonable availability” of military counsel, and authorizing the detailing of additional military counsel for the accused under specified circumstances. 1968—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 90–632 substituted “military judge or by the president of a court-martial without a military judge” for “president of the court”.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 2017 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 115–91 effective immediately after the
Amendments
made by div. E (§§ 5001–5542) of Pub. L. 114–328 take effect as provided for in section 5542 of that Act (10 U.S.C. 801 note), see section 531(p) of Pub. L. 115–91, set out as a note under section 801 of this title.
Effective Date
of 2016 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 114–328 effective on Jan. 1, 2019, as designated by the President, with implementing
Regulations
and provisions relating to applicability to various situations, see section 5542 of Pub. L. 114–328 and Ex. Ord. No. 13825, set out as notes under section 801 of this title.
Effective Date
of 2013 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 113–66 effective on the later of Dec. 26, 2014, or the date of the enactment of the Carl Levin and Howard P. “Buck” McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (Dec. 19, 2014) and applicable with respect to preliminary hearings conducted on or after that
Effective Date
, see section 1702(d)(1) of Pub. L. 113–66, set out as a note under section 802 of this title.
Effective Date
of 1983 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 98–209 effective first day of eighth calendar month after Dec. 6, 1983, but not to affect the designation or detail of a military judge or military counsel to a court-martial before that date, see section 12(a)(1), (2) of Pub. L. 98–209, set out as a note under section 801 of this title.
Effective Date
of 1981 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 97–81 to take effect at end of 60-day period beginning on Nov. 20, 1981, and to apply to trials by courts-martial in which all charges are referred to trial on or after that date, see section 7(a) and (b)(4) of Pub. L. 97–81, set out as an
Effective Date
note under section 706 of this title.
Effective Date
of 1968 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 90–632 effective on first day of tenth month following October 1968, see section 4 of Pub. L. 90–632, set out as a note under section 801 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
10 U.S.C. § 838
Title 10 — Armed Forces
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73