Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog
A friend brought to my attention this little item for our weekend reading.
NOTES: PROSECUTORIAL POWER AND THE LEGITIMACY OF THE MILITARY JUSTICE SYSTEM. 123 HARVARD L. REV. 937 (2010).
Is the concluding paragraph correct?
The modern military justice system suggests an alternative model of institutional design: it emerged as a made order with legitimacy as its organizing principle. Since the experience of World War II brought the military justice system into the popular consciousness and shook confidence in the system’s fairness, those designing the system have made enhancing the perceived legitimacy of the system a central principle of its development. This concern for legitimacy is strongly reflected in the system’s procedures, demonstrating the value of consciously adhering to a plan of design with a coherent driving principle.
(emphasis added.) With the current Congressional tinkering, is it possible to misquote Chief Justice Roberts and consider a rough injustice system, or certainly a significant retrenchment from the lofty principles sought to be adopted in the beginning of the UCMJ? Keep in mind the Note was written in 2010.
Thank you Carol.