Title 33, MILITARY AFFAIRS

This chapter may be cited as the Uniform State Code of Military Justice (USCMJ). Source: SL 2012, ch 175 , § 289.

Any person authorized by this code or by chapter 47 of Title 10, United States Code, or by regulations issued under either, to apprehend persons subject to this code, any marshal of a court-martial appointed pursuant to the provisions of this code, and any peace officer or civil …

Commissioned officers, warrant officers, petty officers, and noncommissioned officers have authority to quell quarrels, frays, and disorders among persons subject to this code and to apprehend persons subject to this code who take part therein. Source: SL 2012, ch 175 , § 13.

If an offender is apprehended outside the state, the offender's return to the area must be in accordance with normal extradition procedures or by reciprocal agreement. Source: SL 2012, ch 175 , § 14.

No person authorized by this section to apprehend persons subject to this code or the place where such offender is confined, restrained, held, or otherwise housed may require payment of any fee or charge for so receiving, apprehending, confining, restraining, holding, or otherwis…

Arrest is the restraint of a person by an order, not imposed as a punishment for an offense, directing the person to remain within certain specified limits. Confinement is the physical restraint of a person. Source: SL 2012, ch 175 , § 16.

An enlisted member may be ordered into arrest or confinement by any commissioned officer by an order, oral or written, delivered in person or through other persons subject to this code. A commanding officer may authorize warrant officers, petty officers, or noncommissioned office…

A commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or a civilian subject to this code or to trial thereunder may be ordered into arrest or confinement only by a commanding officer to whose authority the person is subject, by an order, oral or written, delivered in person or by another co…

No person may be ordered into arrest or confinement except for probable cause. Source: SL 2012, ch 175 , § 19.

Sections 33-10-35 to 33-10-38 , inclusive, do not limit the authority of persons authorized to apprehend offenders to secure the custody of an alleged offender until proper authority may be notified. Source: SL 2012, ch 175 , § 20.

If any person subject to this code is placed in arrest or confinement prior to trial, immediate steps shall be taken to inform the person of the specific wrong of which the person is accused and diligent steps shall be taken to try the person or to dismiss the charges and release…

If a person subject to this code is confined before, during, or after trial, confinement may be in a civilian or military confinement facility. Source: SL 2012, ch 175 , § 22.

No person authorized to receive prisoners pursuant to this code may refuse to receive or keep any prisoner committed to the person's charge by a commissioned officer of the state military forces, if the committing officer furnishes a statement, signed by such officer, of the offe…

Each person authorized to receive prisoners pursuant to this code to whose charge a prisoner is committed shall, within twenty-four hours after that commitment or as soon as the person is relieved from guard, report to the commanding officer of the prisoner the name of the prison…

No member of the state military forces may be placed in confinement in immediate association with enemy prisoners or other foreign nationals not members of the armed forces. Source: SL 2012, ch 175 , § 25.

No person, while being held for trial or awaiting a verdict, may be subjected to punishment or penalty other than arrest or confinement upon the charges pending against the person. The arrest or confinement imposed upon such person may not be any more rigorous than the circumstan…

A person subject to this code accused of an offense against civil authority may be delivered, upon request, to the civil authority for trial or confinement. Source: SL 2012, ch 175 , § 27.

If delivery is made to any civil authority pursuant to § 33-10-46 of a person undergoing sentence of a court-martial, the delivery, if followed by conviction in a civil tribunal, interrupts the execution of the sentence of the court-martial, and the offender after having answered…

If the Governor, as commander in chief, issues an order to the National Guard, or any portion thereof, or the commanding officer of an organization issues any order, to perform any military duty that may be required under the law and regulations, and any enlisted servicemember fa…

The commanding officer at any encampment, parade, drill, muster, annual training, or other rendezvous of the National Guard may order subordinates to perform any lawful military duty. The commanding officer may place in arrest during the time of such meeting, and confine under gu…

Under such regulations as prescribed, any commanding officer (and for purposes of this section, officers-in-charge) may impose disciplinary punishments for minor offenses without the intervention of a court-martial pursuant to this section. The Governor, the adjutant general, or …

Any commanding officer may impose upon enlisted members of the officer's command the following: (1) An admonition; (2) A reprimand; (3) The withholding of privileges for not more than six months which need not be consecutive; (4) The forfeiture of pay of not more than seven day's…

Any commanding officer of the grade of major or lieutenant commander, or above may impose upon enlisted members of the officer's command the following: (1) Any punishment authorized in subdivisions 33-10-51(1), (2), and (3); (2) The forfeiture of not more than one-half of one mon…

The Governor, the adjutant general, an officer exercising general court-martial convening authority, or an officer of a general or flag rank in command may impose: (1) Upon officers of the officer's command: (a) Any punishment authorized in subdivisions 33-10-52(1), (2), (3), and…

Whenever any of those punishments are combined to run consecutively, the total length of the combined punishment cannot exceed the authorized duration of the longest punishment in the combination, and there shall be an apportionment of punishments so that no single punishment in …

Prior to the offer of nonjudicial punishment, the commanding officer shall determine whether arrest in quarters or restriction shall be considered as punishments. If the commanding officer determines that the punishment options may include arrest in quarters or restriction, the a…

The officer who imposes the punishment, or the successor in command, may, at any time, suspend, set aside, mitigate, or remit any part or amount of the punishment and restore all rights, privileges, and property affected. The officer also may: (1) Mitigate reduction in grade to f…

A person punished under this code who considers the punishment unjust or disproportionate to the offense may, through the proper channel, appeal to the next superior authority within fifteen days after the punishment is either announced or sent to the accused, as the commander ma…

The imposition and enforcement of disciplinary punishment under this code for any act or omission is not a bar to trial by court-martial or a civilian court of competent jurisdiction for a serious crime or offense growing out of the same act or omission and not properly punishabl…

Whenever a punishment of forfeiture of pay is imposed under this code, the forfeiture may apply to pay accruing before, on, or after the date that punishment is imposed. Source: SL 2012, ch 175 , § 40.

Rules promulgated by the Adjutant General, pursuant to chapter 1-26 , may prescribe the form of records to be kept of proceedings under this code and may prescribe that certain categories of those proceedings shall be in writing. Source: SL 2012, ch 175 , § 41; SL 2023, ch 109 , …

The three kinds of courts-martial in the state military forces are: (1) General courts-martial, consisting of: (a) A military judge and not less than five members; or (b) Only a military judge, if before the court is assembled the accused, knowing the identity of the military jud…

Each component of the state military forces has court-martial jurisdiction over all members of the particular component who are subject to this code. Additionally, the Army and Air National Guard state military forces have court-martial jurisdiction over all members subject to th…

Subject to § 33-10-62 , general courts-martial have jurisdiction to try persons subject to this code for any offense made punishable by this code, and may, under such limitations as the Governor may prescribe, adjudge any punishment not forbidden by this code. Source: SL 2012, ch…

Subject to § 33-10-62 , special courts-martial have jurisdiction to try persons subject to this code for any offense made punishable by this code, and may, under such limitations as the Governor may prescribe, adjudge any punishment not forbidden by this code except dishonorable …

Subject to § 33-10-62 , summary courts-martial have jurisdiction to try persons subject to this code, except officers, cadets, candidates, and midshipmen, for any offense made punishable by this code under such limitations as the Governor may prescribe. Source: SL 2012, ch 175 , …

No person with respect to whom summary courts-martial have jurisdiction may be brought to trial before a summary court-martial if that person objects thereto. If objection to trial by summary court-martial is made by an accused, trial by special or general court-martial may be or…

A general court-martial may be convened by the Governor or the adjutant general. If any such commanding officer is an accuser, the court shall be convened by superior competent authority and may in any case be convened by such superior authority if considered desirable by such au…

A special courts-martial may be convened by: (1) Any person who may convene a general court-martial; (2) The commanding officer of a garrison, fort, post, camp, station, Air National Guard base, or naval base or station; (3) The commanding officer of a brigade, regiment, group, d…

A summary court-martial may be convened by: (1) Any person who may convene a general or special court-martial; (2) The commanding officer of a detached company or other detachment, or corresponding unit of the Army; (3) The commanding officer of a detached squadron or other detac…

Any commissioned officer of the state military forces may serve on all courts-martial for the trial of any person subject to this code. Source: SL 2012, ch 175 , § 51.

Any warrant officer of the state military forces may serve on general and special courts-martial for the trial of any person subject to this code, other than a commissioned officer. Source: SL 2012, ch 175 , § 52.

Any enlisted member of the state military forces who is not a member of the same unit as the accused may serve on general and special courts-martial for the trial of any enlisted member subject to this code. However, that member shall serve as a member of a court only if, before …

If it can be avoided, no person subject to this code may be tried by a court-martial where any member is junior to the accused in rank or grade. Source: SL 2012, ch 175 , § 54.

If convening a court-martial, the convening authority shall detail as members thereof such members of the state military forces as, in the convening authority's opinion, are best qualified for the duty by reason of age, education, training, experience, length of service, and judi…

Before a court-martial is assembled for the trial of a case, the convening authority may excuse a member of the court from participating in the case. The convening authority may delegate the authority under this section to a judge advocate or to any other principal assistant. Sou…