UCMJ Article 131f: Noncompliance with Procedural Rules
Most punitive articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice are aimed at service members who break the law. Article 131f is aimed at the people…
UCMJ Article 99: Misbehavior Before the Enemy
Few provisions in the Uniform Code of Military Justice carry the weight of Article 99. It is the law that demands courage under fire, and it…
UCMJ Article 120b: Rape and Sexual Assault of a Child
Article 120b of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, codified at 10 U.S.C. 920b, is the dedicated child sexual offense statute in military law. It was…
UCMJ Article 94: Mutiny and Sedition
Among the punitive articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Article 94 reaches the rare conduct that the armed forces treat as an existential threat…
UCMJ Article 103b: Aiding the Enemy
Article 103b of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, codified at 10 U.S.C. 903b, is the military's offense for giving aid and comfort to a wartime…
UCMJ Article 107a: Parole Violation
Parole is a conditional release. A person who has been imprisoned as the result of a criminal proceeding may be released before the end of the…
UCMJ Article 107: False Official Statements and False Swearing
Article 107 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, codified at 10 U.S.C. 907, protects the reliability of the information that flows through official military channels.…
UCMJ Article 106a: Wearing Unauthorized Insignia, Decoration, Badge, Ribbon, Device, or Lapel Button
A uniform tells a story at a glance. The insignia of rank, the decorations for valor, the badges and ribbons earned through service all communicate, instantly…
UCMJ Article 134: Dishonorably Failing to Pay Just Debts
The crucial word in this offense is "dishonorably," and everything turns on it. The article does not punish being in debt, and it does not punish…
UCMJ Article 134: Drunk and Disorderly Conduct
Why drunk and disorderly conduct is charged under the General Article at all, rather than under one of the dedicated intoxication articles, is worth pinning down…
UCMJ Article 112: Drunkenness and Other Incapacitation Offenses
Article 112 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice is narrower than its common name suggests. Codified at 10 U.S.C. 912, it does not punish drinking…
UCMJ Article 121: Larceny and Wrongful Appropriation
The single most consequential distinction in a military theft case is rarely whether the accused took the property. It is what the accused meant to do…
UCMJ Article 83: Malingering
Article 83 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, codified at 10 U.S.C. 883, punishes malingering, the deliberate manufacture of incapacity to escape military obligation. A…
UCMJ Article 115: Communicating Threats
A threat carries weight in the armed forces that it might not carry in civilian life. A barracks where service members fear one another, or a…
UCMJ Article 131b: Obstructing Justice
Obstructing justice is the military offense of interfering with a criminal or disciplinary case in order to influence, impede, or otherwise derail its outcome. In the…
UCMJ Article 78: Accessory After the Fact
Article 78 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice reaches the person who helps a criminal after the crime is done. It does not punish committing…
UCMJ Article 117: Provoking Speeches or Gestures
Most criminal law waits for harm to occur. Article 117 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice does not. It reaches the words and gestures that…
UCMJ Article 121b: False Pretenses to Obtain Services
The traditional law of theft was built around things. A person stole an object, carried it away, and kept it from its owner. Services do not…
UCMJ Article 79: Conviction of Offense Charged, Lesser Included Offenses, and Attempts
Article 79 is not an offense. Codified at 10 U.S.C. 879, it is a verdict provision that tells a court-martial what it may convict an accused…
UCMJ Article 88: Contempt Toward Officials
Article 88 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice is one of the oldest and most distinctive offenses in American military law. Codified at 10 U.S.C.…
UCMJ Article 119: Manslaughter
Article 119 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, codified at 10 U.S.C. 919, defines manslaughter, the unlawful killing of a human being that falls short…
UCMJ Article 132: Retaliation
Retaliation is the military offense of punishing, or threatening to punish, a service member for reporting a crime or for making a lawful complaint through protected…
UCMJ Article 134: Straggling
Straggling is a minor offense that exists to protect a basic feature of military operations: that a unit on the move stays together. It addresses a…
UCMJ Article 134: Bigamy
Bigamy is one of the offenses that remained inside Article 134, the General Article, after the 2019 restructuring of the punitive articles moved many former Article…
UCMJ Article 131d: Wrongful Refusal to Testify
A court-martial, an Article 32 preliminary hearing, a court of inquiry: each depends on the ability to compel relevant testimony. When a witness who has been…