Congress Grapples With Military Justice Reform

Legislation seeks to give trained military prosecutors, not commanders, control over how to handle sexual assault and other crimes.

By
3

Congress may be on the verge of overhauling how cases of sexual assault, harassment, and other crimes are handled in the military justice system, a goal sought by outside groups and lawmakers for more than a decade. 

High numbers of sexual assault cases in the military underscore these calls for change. Now, some lawmakers are coalescing around a proposal that would remove military commanders’ authority to investigate and prosecute certain crimes, including sexual assault, and give it to trained independent military prosecutors instead.

While such a provision has already cleared the House of Representatives, it still faces serious hurdles to advance in the Senate and land on President Joe Biden’s desk. Some key lawmakers remain holdouts and there are disagreements between the two chambers over how to address the matter.

The Uniform Code of Military Justice currently grants authority to military commanders to choose whether to investigate and prosecute sexual assault cases and other crimes. 

Create a free account
Access additional articles and newsletters for no cost, no credit card information needed. Continue ALREADY HAVE AN ACCOUNT? SIGN IN
3
By
Comments (3)
Join The Dispatch to participate in the comments.
 
  1. Avatar photo
    Ben Connelly

    Crimes should absolutely be prosecuted outside of the chain of command. Perhaps even by regular law enforcement. I don’t get why Reed prefers the narrow approach.

    Collapse
  2. Avatar photo
    Paul Britton

    Gillibrand and others are right to note that military commanders aren’t qualified to make decisions about prosecuting sexual assault (and may have personal relationships that interfere with their partiality).

    For many of the same reasons, college administrators and bureaucrats aren’t qualified to decide what to do with sexual harassment and sexual assault claims on college campuses, let alone to investigate or adjudicate them. It’s past time for our representatives in Congress to recognize that, too.

    Collapse
  3. Avatar photo
    Paul Britton

    “. . . discouraging them to formally file reports.” Better: “. . . discouraging them from formally filing reports.”

    Collapse