U.S. civilians can face military trials

[The Straight Story]

U.S. civilians can face military trials

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- A last-minute addition to a federal spending bill at the end of the last U.S. Congress now makes civilians eligible for military courts-martial.


With the addition of just five words, the provision sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was signed into law by President Bush, and makes civilian government employees and journalists eligible for prosecution under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the Washington Post reported Monday.

"Right now, you have two different standards for people doing the same job," Graham said. "This will bring uniformity to the commander's ability to control the behavior of people representing our country."

Legal experts say the change will likely raise constitutional challenges, as civilians prosecuted in military court don't receive a grand jury hearing and are tried by members of the military, rather than by a jury of their peers.

http://www.newsdaily.com/TopNews/UPI-1-20070115-10321700-bc-us-militarytrials.xml

[ThomCat]

1. It would be nice if the article provided a bit more information.

Which civilians? Does this only apply to mercenaries and contractors? I could support that. Does this apply to anybody else? I definitely would not support that.

[Kagemusha]

3. The article's a condensed version of explanations I've seen earlier

Basically, it applies to mercenaries, contractors, and apparently embedded journalists as well. The latter case is because the language was written broadly.

[Little Wing]

2. Sodomy is illegal in the UCMJ

Something to keep in mind, Republicans