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UCMJ Jurisdiction for Reservists

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naes

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? WA

The UCMJ is only applicable when a member of the Reserves is IDT or ADT, correct? (UCMJ 802.ART.2. PERSONS SUBJECT TO THIS CHAPTER)

So, if a Reservist, when not on IDT or ADT, was to engage in an activity that was illegal according to the UCMJ, but was not illegal in any civil jurisdiction, then said Reservist could not be subject to punishment via the UCMJ, correct?
 
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BelizeBreeze

Senior Member
badapple40 said:
Be a little more specific. What, exactly, are you contemplating doing?
I think it might have something to do with a government issued donkey and 40 acres....but then, I could be wrong :D
 

naes

Junior Member
badapple40 said:
Be a little more specific. What, exactly, are you contemplating doing?
I'd rather not say on this forum. Does it make a difference? I suppose it must or you wouldn't have asked.

Are you an attorney? I'd be willing to talk to you on the phone in order to be covered by attorney-client privileges.

Either way, thanks for taking the time to respond.
 

naes

Junior Member
badapple40 said:
Be a little more specific. What, exactly, are you contemplating doing?
Okay, let's try this. Let's say it was something that normally could be punished under articles 133 and 134. If the acts did not occur during IDT or ADT (or active duty, of course), then the reservist couldn't be punished under the UCMJ, right?
 

badapple40

Senior Member
naes said:
Okay, let's try this. Let's say it was something that normally could be punished under articles 133 and 134. If the acts did not occur during IDT or ADT (or active duty, of course), then the reservist couldn't be punished under the UCMJ, right?
Did they occur while you were traveling to or from your reserve tour?
 

naes

Junior Member
badapple40 said:
Did they occur while you were traveling to or from your reserve tour?
In this purely hypothetical situation, let's say it did not occur during travel to/from duty. Let's say it happened when the Reservist was in the IRR.
 

badapple40

Senior Member
naes said:
In this purely hypothetical situation, let's say it did not occur during travel to/from duty. Let's say it happened when the Reservist was in the IRR.
No jurisdiction -- unless it was failure to report for an activation order.
 

naes

Junior Member
badapple40 said:
No jurisdiction -- unless it was failure to report for an activation order.
Thanks!

So, let's give this hypothetical situation a little more specificity. Let's say, hypothetically of course, that our imaginary Reservist was to violate the DADTDPDH policy by making a statement and admitting to acts which could possibly be charged under articles 133 and 134 (although I haven't found any precedence of those charges unless they were accompanied by charges under article 125). The admitted acts occurred when the Reservist was not under UCMJ jurisdiction, which we have already established. Then the only recourse the Commander would have is to initiate a limited inquiry and not a criminal investigation, correct? According to DOD Directive 5505.8 (http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf2/i55058p.pdf), the commander must determine "that there is credible information of adult private consenual sexual misconduct" before initiating a criminal investigation.

Would it hold that because there is no credible information that misconduct occurred while the Reservist was under UCMJ jurisdiction, the commander does not have grounds to initiate an investigation? A follow on question would be, what if the commander does inititate, what appears to be, an improper investigation, what recourse would the soldier have? I'm guessing they could file a complaint with the IG. Anything else?
 

badapple40

Senior Member
naes said:
Thanks!

So, let's give this hypothetical situation a little more specificity. Let's say, hypothetically of course, that our imaginary Reservist was to violate the DADTDPDH policy by making a statement and admitting to acts which could possibly be charged under articles 133 and 134 (although I haven't found any precedence of those charges unless they were accompanied by charges under article 125). The admitted acts occurred when the Reservist was not under UCMJ jurisdiction, which we have already established. Then the only recourse the Commander would have is to initiate a limited inquiry and not a criminal investigation, correct? According to DOD Directive 5505.8 (http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf2/i55058p.pdf), the commander must determine "that there is credible information of adult private consenual sexual misconduct" before initiating a criminal investigation.

Would it hold that because there is no credible information that misconduct occurred while the Reservist was under UCMJ jurisdiction, the commander does not have grounds to initiate an investigation? A follow on question would be, what if the commander does inititate, what appears to be, an improper investigation, what recourse would the soldier have? I'm guessing they could file a complaint with the IG. Anything else?
IG or Article 138 complaint.
 

scaredbuthonest

Junior Member
similar question

I have a question along similar grounds. Say a Reservist had relations with a married woman (neither her or her husband are in the military) and the husband is now threatening to go after the reservist for a article 134 violation. would he be able to go after said reservist? the reservist had just returned from a deployment and was not on any kind of orders.
 

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