§948j Military judge of a military commission

Summary

Every military commission must have a military judge assigned to it. The Secretary of Defense must set rules for how judges are assigned. The judge who is assigned presides over that commission. A military judge must be a commissioned officer, be a member of the bar of a Federal court or the highest court of a State, and be certified under section 826 as qualified to serve as a military judge by the Judge Advocate General of their service. A judge cannot act if they are the accuser, a witness, an investigator, or a counsel in the same case. The judge may not meet with or vote with the members except in the presence of the accused, trial counsel, and defense counsel (unless section 949d allows otherwise). A certified military judge may do other duties approved by their Judge Advocate General or the JAG’s designee. The official who convenes the commission may not prepare or review any performance report about the judge that relates to the judge’s work on that commission.