Can an Article 15, under UCMJ, be given after being negativelely counselled and given corrective training?

Question

We are debating on UCMJ procedures and rather than go to JAG with this question tomorrow we wanted to see if anyone knew on here.

Answer 1

Yes you can.

The counseling is not a punishment - it is a written record of you being told about your poor performance.

Corrective training is not a punishment either. It is training intended to correct a shortcoming in your performance by allowing you to practice the proper behavior.

An Article 15 is an informal judicial proceeding held by the commander that can give actual punishment.

The fact of the matter is that you broke the rules and now have to accept the consequences.

Answer 2

Ucmj Article 15

Answer 3

If a person was counseled on an offense and was ordered to conduct some type of corrective actions then it should be noted that in one sense of the word an Article 15 had already been conducted. If the person was told to do this by any one other than the Commanding Officer of the unit then it could be considered as illegally issued. In that case the person being counseled could still receive an article 15, but the individual that ordered the other counseling should also be at the minimum reprimanded for overstepping his/her authority. In another sense of the law the individual being concealed could be ordered to conduct this counseling instead of a higher style court martial and then issued an article 15 to "make it legal". In another sense the article 15 could be considered double jeopardy if the individual was ordered to accomplish the counseling instead of an article15, and was instead ordered to stand an article 15 anyway. The only way to insure the proper way is to consult with either the JAG office or a civilian Lawyer that deals with the UCMJ.

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Can an Article 15, under UCMJ, be given after being negativelely counselled and given corrective training?
We are debating on UCMJ procedures and rather than go to JAG with this question tomorrow we wanted to see if anyone knew on here.

Answer 5

1st) Like always we would need all 3 or 4 sides of the issue and all the facts. 2) He should be fighting this and be at TDS with his supervisor. There he will get the best legal advice and assistance. Here is a good place to the wrong info at best. 3) I don't believe a legal NCO would go through all this to get him in trouble for just disrespect. Somethings not right, but I am here not there. 4) He can appeal, but he must remember, the punishment increases if he is found guilty (i.e a courts-martial, which except for summary ones, are Federal convictions). So let the professionals talk to him and him to them.

Answer 6

Consult Legal Aid. An article 15 is a non judicial punishment. An article 15 is bad but is non judicial. Consult Legal Aid.

Answer 7

If you're in the Navy, Double Jeopardy doesn't attach to Article 15, also referred to as "CO's NJP" or "Captain's Mast". NJP stands for exactly that "Non-Judicial Punishment". I remember taking a young transgresser to see the skipper on a Navy base I was stationed at in the early 80's in Hawaii. The kid thought he'd be a Sea Lawyer and hire himself a fancy, slick civilian attorney to represent him at Captain's mast. The first thing the Ol' man did was throw the lawyer off the base, then threw the book at the kid. When I was active duty Navy, the Commanding Officer had the following punishments available at NJP:

45 Days Restriction AND 45 days Extra Duty (affectionately called "45/45") OR 60 days Restriction to the command (or ship).

If the transgressor was E-3 or below, 3 days confinement in the brig on either reduced rations or bread and water.

Reduction in rank to the next inferior paygrade. in the Navy, sometimes people are allowed to wear the insignia and assume the title of the next senior rank without being immediately paid for it. this is called being "frocked". If you go to mast (CO's NJP) and are "frocked" from E-4 to E-5 and the skipper reduces you in rank to the next inferior paygrade, you are now an instant E-3 since your PAYGRADE was actually E-4, not E-5. Nice, huh?

Forfeiture of half a month's pay for up to three months in duration.

Recommendation for a BCD (Bad Conduct Discharge).

Or, of course, as the convening authority aboard ship, the Captain could always refer your case to Court Martial. In which case you become Intimately acquainted with the REAL legal system of the United States Navy.

Anyways, ...the answer is YES. Article 15 procedures are intended to be non-judicial and in most case have very few restrictions upon them. One thing to remember about the military is this:

The Military does NOT practice democracy, they merely defend it.

Answer 8

"Double jeopardy" stems from the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: "nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb." This clause is intended to limit prosecutorial abuse by the government in repeated prosecution for the same offense, as a means of harassment or oppression. It is also in harmony with the common law concept of res judicata, which prevents courts from relitigating issues and claims that have already been the subject of a final judgment.
There are three essential protections included in double jeopardy: protection from being retried for the same crime after an acquittal; protection from retrial after a conviction; and protection from being punished multiple times for the same offense.
This law is occasionally referred to as a legal technicality, because it allows defendants a defense that does not address whether the crime was actually committed. For example, were police to uncover new evidence conclusively proving the guilt of someone previously acquitted, there is little they can do because the defendant may not be tried again (at least, not on the same or substantially similar charge) Fong Foo v. United States, 369 U.S. 141 (1962).
Though the Fifth Amendment applies only to the federal government, the Supreme Court has ruled that the double jeopardy clause applies to the states as well, through incorporation by the Fourteenth Amendment.
Jeopardy attaches in a jury trial once the jury and alternates are impanelled and sworn in. In a non-jury trial, jeopardy attaches once the first evidence is put on, which occurs when the first witness is sworn.

However this applies only to civilian courts. The UCMJ has the power to apply multiple judicial sanctions as punishment without a double jeopardy provision.

The "separate sovereigns" exception to double jeopardy arises from the unique nature of the American federal system, in which states are considered to be sovereigns with plenary power that have relinquished a number of enumerated powers to the federal government. Double jeopardy attaches only to prosecutions for the same criminal act by the same sovereign, but as separate sovereigns, both the federal and state governments can bring separate prosecutions for the same act. For example, Timothy McVeigh was executed by the federal government for murdering eight federal employees with a bomb, but could also have been tried in state court for murdering numerous other persons in the same explosion.

Answer 9

Article 15's don't really mean much.They won't stop you from getting promoted.Not much more than a slap on the wrist.Please don't lose any sleep over it if you get one.I have 2 and i'm getting promoted this year.They just prolong the promotion.

Answer 10

If it is a clear violation, yes. You can not "get away with murder" by a counseling statement and writing "I will not kill someone" 500 times on the dry erase board.

If the crime fits it, the Command has over ride authority.