- Defense Institute of International Legal Studies
- DIILS COMPLETES 3 WEEK MILITARY JUSTICE COURSE
DIILS COMPLETES 3 WEEK MILITARY JUSTICE COURSE
11 participants attending the DIILS Military Justice course visited the Rhode Island Crime Lab and a local police station as part of their participation in the 3 week course.
The Military Justice course offered a comprehensive overview of the U.S. military justice system and comparative analysis of other military justice systems. Topics included procedural due process, evidentiary practice, trial advocacy, non-judicial alternatives to courts martial, appeals and the role of military judges. Participants were able to determine best practices in military justice based upon comparison of the U.S. and other military justice systems. They visited with U.S. military prosecutors, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Lessons were reinforced through trial practice exercises facilitated by U.S. Judge Advocates on charge drafting, closing argument, witness interview and direct examination of witnesses were based on a recent sexual assault case involving UN peacekeeping soldiers. This case study trial practice exercise enabled the participants to learn how to use their own national military justice systems to investigate and prosecute serious offenses committed outside of national boundaries. Participants learned about the U.S. system of binding case law through the study of selected military appellate court opinions.
One participant summed up the experience by saying "The course helped me to understand my own country's military justice system but also others through comparison especially through case studies and participant presentations. In addition, it also enabled me to learn legal terminology which I did not know prior to the course."
The next offering of the Military Justice course (MASL P176003) is scheduled for 1-21 November 2019 at Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island.