How is the military justice system different from the civilian criminal system?
There are many differences, but the most significant differences have to do with warning of your rights when your are first questioned, pre-trial investigation of the charges, and the selection of and voting by the court-martial panel. Rights warnings. Most people are familiar with “Miranda” warnings – ” you have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law….” In the civilian world, these warnings only need to be given if the police seek to interrogate someone who is actually in police custody. In the military, the warnings must be given by any military member, whether they are law enforcement or not, who seeks to question a military member if they merely suspect that member of a crime. You don’t have to be in custody, and unlike the civilian world, they have to tell you what it is you are suspected of having done before they question you. This is most often violated in the military when members in the chain of command are trying to
