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court-martial Definition

court·-martial (kôrt′mär′s̸həl)

noun pl. courts′·-mar′tial, court′·-mar′tials

  1. a court of personnel in the armed forces for the trial of persons accused of breaking military law
  2. a trial by a court-martial
  3. a conviction by a court-martial

transitive verb -·tialed or -·tialled, -·tialing or -·tialling

  1. to try by a court-martial
  2. to convict by a court-martial

court-martial Law Definition

n

An ad hoc military court whose judges are commissioned officers of higher rank than, and of the same branch of the armed services as, the accused. This court is convened to try a member of the armed services who is accused of violating the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
general court-martial
The highest military court, comprised of five officers (unless the defendant decides to be tried by only one judge) with jurisdiction to try all offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and to impose any sanction permitted by the code (including death).
special court-martial
An intermediate military court, comprised of three officers (unless the defendant decides to be tried by only one judge) with jurisdiction to try all noncapital offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. However, the sanctions this court can prescribe may be no greater than a dismissal from the armed services or six months imprisonment.
summary court-martial
The lowest military court, comprised of one officer. The type of offenses this court can try and the sanctions it is allowed to impose are very limited. Furthermore, the accused may refuse trial by a summary court-martial, in which case he or she will be tried by a general or special court-martial.

court-martial Usage Examples

Object

  • jurisdiction: Court-martial jurisdiction of a military commander and its extent are determined by his superiors.
  • trial: These then, are the only court-martial trials known today in which a death penalty was pronounced that resulted in an execution.

Converse of object

face: Troops could face courts-martial for violation of Geneva Convention protections for noncombatants if the inquiry determines that action is warranted.

Converse of subject

try: Albert Meyer was tried by courts-martial held at Middlesex Guildhall on 5-6 November 1915.

Adjective modifier

general: The Commission shall have regard for, but shall not be bound by, rules of procedure and evidence prescribed for general courts-martial.

Modifies a noun

system: It includes summaries of case law, a reading list on military legal issues, information on the courts-martial system and international links.

Modifying Another Word

by: This was reported to Jackson, who had the man arrested, tried by court-martial, and shot in twenty minutes.

Preposition: of

soldier: He is expected to testify in future courts-martial of other soldiers facing charges.