Article 32 - Pre-Trial Investigation & Court Martial

This is the Document Release Information
Article Number:	7CAV-R-045
Scope:	The Article 32 - Pre-trial Investigation & Court Martial
Version:	1.0
Effective Date:	26NOV20
Last Modified Date:	DDMMMYYYY
Approving Authority:	Regimental Commanding Officer
Point of Contact:	Regimental Executive Officer

Introduction

Article 32 Investigations are a last-resort measure used to investigate (independently where possible) any alleged infraction upon legal request. The subsequent Court Martial is the review of the facts found from that investigation and the summary judgement or dismissal resulting from it at the discretion of the Judge.

Initiation, Process and Requirements

The JAG OIC may initiate an Article 32 investigation at will and without prior notification but must notify the rest of Regimental Staff when doing so. Any Officer within the 7th Cavalry can request an Article 32 investigation on any matter they have evidence or witness testimony to provide against any trooper regardless of seniority to be referred to the Judge Advocate General Corps. The JAG OIC will assign an independent officer to perform the investigation, by obtaining any and all evidence and witness testimony supported by the Regimental Staff, an Aide to the Chief of Staff or SPD Technical Aide where applicable and appropriate. Delegates must be Commissioned Officers within the 7th Cavalry. The investigating officer will provide a report of the findings and recommendation to the JAG OIC. When interviewing the accused, in any legal proceeding (PHASE 3 or 4) the accused is entitled to the representation of a qualified Officer to offer (7th Cavalry) Legal Counsel in the capacity of their defense.

Investigation Report Contents

The investigating officer will provide a report of the findings within 14 days of the investigation initiation and provide recommendation to the Judge Advocate General OIC:

1. An executive summary (intended to summarize in no more than 4 sentences/bullet points.)
2. The evidence gathered to include:

   A. Facts

   B. Witness testimony

   C. Recordings / Logs (if applicable)

3. Whether any lines of inquiry were not explored, and if so, why not?
4. A recommendation to the Judge Advocate General OIC as to what action they should take. Recommendations could include:

   A. Dismissal of the case due to lack of evidence

   B. Further investigative work beyond the scope of this officer’s jurisdiction.

   C. Formal charges for the individuals involved to be prepared in accordance with Article 33, UCMJ and to proceed to General Court Martial.

Court Martial

This is the mandatory process disciplining authorities must follow to execute a Commander’s Hearing.

1. Pursuant to a referral by the investigating officer during pretrial activities, the JAG OIC shall arrange for the composition and execution of a trial of the accused to review the formal charges, hear the evidence and pass judgment and sentence. They will contact the Accused via Private Message to inform them of this.
2. They have 7 days from the date of the message was sent to concur or dispute the content notwithstanding Leaves of Absence when pre-booked before the message is delivered.
3. The General Staff shall appoint a Judge for the case.
4. If guilt is confirmed by the Judge, the Judge shall immediately pass sentences within the limits of authority.
5. In either case that the Accused accepts or disputes the findings, the matter is immediately referred to the General of the Army to perform a Duty of Review.
6. The General of the Army has Right of Review over any decisions made by subordinate members of his Command.
7. For this reason, and as a matter of cause, he shall review each and every Court Martial conducted as part of this process and either:

   A. Confirm the results of the Court Martial to be executed

   B. Vacate the results of the Court Martial and instruct the destruction of any such investigative materials.

8. A record of vacated Court Martial decisions shall be maintained by General Staff and will not be for public consumption.

Repeat / Multiple Article 32 Pre-trial Investigation & Court Martial

It is not anticipated that any repetitions of an Article 32 investigation will occur due to the severity of the offences they are typically aligned to (such as gross misconduct or willful disobedience demonstrated over a period of time). That being said it should be expected that any repeat Article 32 investigation performed for the same reason on the same individual shall be grounds for immediate Dishonourable Discharge if the facts are indisputable.

Court Martial Record-Keeping

Records of a Court Martial must be kept indefinitely by reference on the troopers MILPAC. These are likely to become part of an integrated feature of the forum in due course in order to remove the administrative burden of PDF management in Google Drives.

Form Template

The Article 32 Court Martial Hearing Template may be found here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pZRs7sNHboJ6cvP_1xPmXa1_mDIH-RVQ/view?usp=sharing

The Investigation Template may be found here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZM1LokTj2f7bKX0wEQX-MfMAYLcv9gd5/view?usp=sharing

The Investigative Nature of an Article 32 Pre-trial Investigation

An Investigation is non-punitive. This means specifically that the Investigation itself is not a consequence of a troopers actions. It is a process designed to enable discovery of the facts in order to identify whether guilt may or may not be ascribed. No record of an Investigation alone shall appear on a trooper’s MILPAC.

The Punitive Nature of a Court Martial

A Court Martial, unless the case is dismissed, is punitive. This means specifically that the Hearing itself is a consequence of a troopers actions and even if not inclusive of additional measures, is a record of disciplinary action to be annotated unconditionally for future reference upon a troopers MILPAC.

Command Authority

Command authority for a court martial includes:

• The General of the Army
• The Judge Advocate General

Consequences

There is a documented limit of authority in order to prevent abuse. Limits of Sentencing are uniform for Officers and NCOs, and include:

• Notation on MILPACS
• Any other punishment at the Judge’s discretion up to and including dishonorable discharge from the 7th Cavalry Regiment.

Regimental Disciplinary Process
Counseling	Developmental Counseling Statement (DCS)
Repeated Minor Offences or Serious Offences	Letter of Reprimand (LOR) • Article 15 - Commander's Investigation and Hearing
Repeated Serious Offences or Gravely Serious Offences	Article 32 - Pre-Trial Investigation and Court Martial