Judge Advocate General's Corps

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Criminal Law (Code 20)

Mission

The Criminal Law Division oversees all aspects of military justice policy within the Department of the Navy (DoN).

Function

Military Justice Policy

  • Draft legal and policy advice for the Judge Advocate General (JAG) on a wide variety of military justice matters.
  • Review all legislative and regulatory proposals affecting military justice.
  • Represent the Navy in regular meetings of the Joint Service Committee on Military Justice (JSC), the principal vehicle for staffing amendments to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and Manual for Courts-Martial; provide Navy representative for meetings of the joint-service working group supporting the JSC; and staff all amendments to Secretarial and DoN regulations implementing or affecting the UCMJ.

Military Justice Administration

  • Staff request from commands for Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) designation as a general or special court-martial convening authority.
  • Staff requests for JAG authorization to refer charges for trial by court-martial after adjudication of similar charges by state or foreign courts.
  • Staff matters requiring approval of SECNAV, JAG, or Department of Justice (DoJ), including requests to grant immunity/orders to testify, issue warrants of attachment, court-martial retirees, and recall reservists for prosecution/confinement.
  • Review all decisions of military appellate courts, and staff JAG certification of Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals decisions for review by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.
  • Provide legal opinions upon request to the Board for Correction of Naval Records.
  • Provide JAG representative to the Naval Clemency and Parole Board.

Support to Military Justice Practitioners

  • Provide timely guidance to all military justice practitioners in the DoN.
  • Provide informal professional ethics advice for Navy and Marine Corps judge advocates engaged in trial work.

Special Assistant for Military Justice to Naval Legal Service Command (NLSC)

  • Provide advice to NLSC regarding policies, plans, resources, and procedures affecting the military justice mission of NLSC.
  • Ensure Military Justice Litigation Track is adequately manned and trained to meet the military justice mission.
  • Track the status of significant ongoing military justice cases.
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