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A special court martial is a court trial held by the United States Military. It is a mid level court in the military consisting of a military judge, prosecutor, defense lawyer, and usually at least three military officers used to make a jury. A person facing the trial may also request that the trial be held by a judge only. Sentences delivered by such courts are usually limited to up to one year of confinement, two-thirds of basic pay forfeited per month for up to one year and a possible Bad Conduct Discharge. This article provides answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about issues related to this. If someone is convicted of violating Article 86 (Absent Without Leave) by a Special Court Martial, will it be considered a misdemeanor?
Since it does not have the authority to convict someone to a prison term of more than one year, it would be considered a misdemeanor under the law. If someone has been charged in a Court Martial, it would have been deemed to be a felony because common punishment at General Court Martial for more than thirty days would be terminated for eighteen months. How does a General Discharge under honorable conditions show up on a person’s record if he was discharged for negligent driving and dereliction of duty?
Since the discharge was for negligent driving it would show up on the person’s military record as a special court martial conviction a misdemeanor and it may also show up on the persons National Crime Information Center record. If someone received a Bad Conduct Discharge because of a Special Court Martial but the official charge was not properly stated, how can the person obtain the information?
In case a person has lost or misplaced the copy of the record provided to them just after the trial, they can request a copy of the case. Should a person mention in an application that they have been convicted of felony in case they were found guilty of illegal drug use in a Special Court Martial?
In such a conviction a person can truthfully not check the conviction of felony box on an application, since the maximum punishment meted out through a Special Court Martial is limited to the court and would be considered a misdemeanor. How should someone go about retaining information after having served jail term due to a Special Court Martial conviction to prove that they were not convicted of felony while trying to purchase a firearm?
If a person wants to have the information necessary to purchase a firearm and gone through a Special Court Martial they can ask for all the copies of the records with regard to that court martial. Many issues can arise when dealing with Special Court Martial cases and convictions. Sometimes people are not aware of how cases are classified and convictions are handed out by military court and civil court. There are other issues also that might create confusion to the lay person. In such a case, it is better to ask a military lawyer to decide the best course of action and act accordingly.
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