what's the difference between a field grade article 15 and a court marshall?

Answer 1

An Article 15 is non-judicial punishment. There are 3 types of Art 15's
1. Summarized
2. Company Grade
3. Field Grade
The key thing to remember is that an Art 15 is not a legal process, and beyond the restraints imposed on a Commander's exercise of Art 15 authority by the Manula of Courts Martial, the COmmander is virtually unrestrained by legal process. For example, rules of evidence do not apply, and providing defense counsel at the hearing is not mandatory.
IF after receiving an Art 15 a Soldier has the right to appeal to the next ranking Officer.

A Courts Martial is an actual legal proceeding. A Judge will be appointed and hear the case. A jury can be requested. That jury can be of a soldiers peers (Same skill level) or an all Officer Jury.

There are 3 types of Courts Martials.
1. General Courts-Martial
2. Special Courts-Martial
3. Summary Courts Martial

Answer 2

An order has been disobeyed, or an offense has taken place. Things happen in a special order.

1. You may well go to an article 15 (office hours in the Marines and Captain's Mast in the Navy) and if the officer hearing your case decides that your case is too bad for an Article 15, you can be court-martialled.

There are three types of courts-martial.

Summary is the lowest grade and in that court, there is only an officer assigned to hear the case. This is more akin to a kangaroo court than a real legal proceeding. Therefore, I would recommend that you ask at least for a Special Court Martial. There you can have legal representation - and it has to be a real lawyer if one is available, but if commands are too small for a corps of lawyers, you may be appointed an officer or enlisted man with experiences in courts-martial. A summary can dish out some serious things, but not as serious as a special.

The most serious one is a General Court Martial. If your offense is really bad, they had imprison you for live or even to death.

My suggestion is that you read the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) for more detailed information.

Prior to a Court Martial there will be an Article 32 hearing. That is equivalent to a civilian Grand Jury. If the equivalent to a "true bill" is found to be the case, the court martial will procede.

All articles mentioned are articles in the UCMJ.

All cases that recommend dismissal from the service, prison time, or death, are put before court of appeals.

Answer 3

An article 15 is Non-Judicial Punishment, or NJP for short. There is no trial and depending on whether it is a company or field grade proceeding the accused is entitled to differing but comparatively limited rights. You may still have some present your case or speak on your behalf as a Field Grade Article 15, but there is no jury, no appeals, no trial. A court martial is a military trial and affords the accused more rights. A court martial, however, will typically result in a much more severe penalty. You cannot be forced to accept an article 15 and always have the right to demand a trial by court martial if you feel you are innocent of the charge(s) against you. Typically, however, they have you dead to rights when the start the NJP process and a court martial is only likely to make things worse.

Answer 4

an article 15 is "non-judicial punnishment" distributed by a commanding officer for lesser offences. The punnishments can include forfiture of pay, assiging additional duties or restriction of privelages. Field grade is a refernce to the rank of the officer administering the Article 15. Field grade is a Major or higher and they can assign more and stricter punnishments. An article 15 will stay in your records and can affect your career but will not be cause of removal from the military service without other surrounding circumstances.

A court marshal is an actual legal proceding of military court for the larger infractions and can hand out sentences as small as the article 15 to as large as life inprisonment or execution depending on the crime.

below is a link to the UCMJ if you wish to read further