Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 23 / Wednesday, February 4, 2015 / Notices 6057 

Dated: January 29, 2015. 

Glenna Mickelson, 

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2015–02087 Filed 2–3–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–60–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Office of the Secretary 

[Docket ID: DoD–2015–OS–0010] 

Manual for Courts-Martial; Proposed 

Amendments 

AGENCY: Joint Service Committee (JSC) 

on Military Justice, DoD. 

ACTION: Annual Review of the Manual 

for Courts-Martial, United States. 

SUMMARY: The JSC is conducting its 

annual review of the Manual for CourtsMartial (MCM), United States. The 

committee invites members of the 

public to suggest changes to the MCM. 

Please provide supporting rationale for 

any proposed changes. 

In light of the significant changes to 

the military justice system resulting 

from the National Defense 

Authorization Acts for Fiscal Years 2014 

and 2015, the JSC will not consider 

proposed changes submitted prior to 

October 1, 2014 during this annual 

review. If the proponent of any 

proposed change submitted prior to 

October 1, 2014 would like a previously 

submitted proposal to be considered by 

the JSC, it must be resubmitted as 

explained in this notice. 

DATES: Proposed changes must be 

received no later than April 6, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by docket number and title, 

by any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

Follow the instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Mail: Federal Docket Management 

System Office, 4800 Mark Center Drive, 

East Tower, Suite 02G09, Alexandria, 

VA 22350–3100. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name and 

docket number for this Federal Register 

document. The general policy for 

comments and other submissions from 

members of the public is to make these 

submissions available for public 

viewing on the Internet at http://

www.regulations.gov as they are 

received without change, including any 

personal identifiers or contact 

information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Captain Harlye S. Carlton, USMC, 

Executive Secretary, JSC, at (703) 693– 

9299 or via email at harlye.carlton@

usmc.mil. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The JSC is 

conducting this annual review of the 

MCM pursuant to Executive Order 

12473—Manual for Courts-Martial, 

United States, 1984, and Department of 

Defense Directive 5500.17, Role and 

Responsibility of the Joint Service 

Committee (JSC) on Military Justice. 

Dated: January 30, 2015. 

Aaron Siegel, 

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison 

Officer, Department of Defense. 

[FR Doc. 2015–02126 Filed 2–3–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 5001–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Office of the Secretary 

[Docket ID: DoD–2014–OS–0140] 

Manual for Courts-Martial; Proposed 

Amendments 

AGENCY: Joint Service Committee on 

Military Justice (JSC), Department of 

Defense. 

ACTION: Notice of response to public 

comments on proposed amendments to 

the Manual for Courts-Martial, United 

States (2012 ed.). 

SUMMARY: The Joint Service Committee 

on Military Justice (JSC) is publishing 

final proposed amendments to the 

Manual for Courts-Martial, United 

States (MCM). The proposed changes 

concern the rules of evidence and the 

punitive articles applicable in trials by 

courts-martial. These proposed changes 

have not been coordinated within the 

Department of Defense under DoD 

Directive 5500.1, ‘‘Preparation, 

Processing and Coordinating 

Legislation, Executive Orders, 

Proclamations, Views Letters and 

Testimony,’’ June 15, 2007, and do not 

constitute the official position of the 

Department of Defense, the Military 

Departments, or any other Government 

agency. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Capt 

Harlye S. Carlton, USMC, (703) 963– 

9299 or harlye.carlton@usmc.mil. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On October 3, 2014 (79 FR 59938– 

59959), the JSC published a Notice of 

Proposed Amendments concerning the 

rules of procedure and evidence and the 

punitive articles applicable in trials by 

courts-martial and a Notice of Public 

Meeting to receive comments on these 

proposals. The public meeting was held 

on October 29, 2014. Two members of 

the public provided oral comments at 

the public meeting, with one of the 

members of the public also submitting 

a written comment. Additionally, 

several written comments were received 

electronically. All comments were 

considered by the JSC. 

Public Comments: Comments and 

materials received from the public are 

available under Docket ID Number 

DoD–2014–OS–0140–0001, Federal 

Register Number 2014–23546, and at 

the following link http://www.

regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=

DOD-2014-OS-0140-0001. 

Discussion of Comments and Changes 

The JSC considered each public 

comment and made some modifications 

to the proposed amendments 

accordingly. Additionally, the JSC 

added proposed amendments to 

implement provisions in the National 

Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

Year 2015, Public Law 113–291, 

December 19, 2014 (FY15 NDAA). 

Comments that were submitted that are 

outside the scope of these proposed 

changes will be considered as part of the 

JSC’s 2015 annual review of the MCM. 

The JSC will forward the public 

comments and proposed amendments to 

the Department of Defense. The public 

comments regarding the proposed 

changes and a summary of proposed 

amendments to implement FY15 NDAA 

provisions follow: 

a. Several comments recommended 

adding a requirement to RCM 305(i) that 

a neutral and detached officer should 

inquire whether a victim has been 

contacted and provided the opportunity 

to be heard during the 7-day review of 

pretrial confinement. Comments also 

recommended that a neutral and 

detached officer should inquire whether 

the victim has waived the right to be 

heard. The JSC has adopted this 

proposal in part as follows: 

—R.C.M. 305(i)(2)(D) is amended to 

read as follows: 

‘‘Memorandum. The 7-day reviewing 

officer’s conclusions, including the factual 

findings on which they are based, shall be set 

forth in a written memorandum. The 

memorandum shall also state whether the 

victim was notified of the review, was given 

the opportunity to confer with the 

representative of the command or counsel for 

the government, and was given a reasonable 

opportunity to be heard. A copy of the 

memorandum and all documents considered 

by the 7-day reviewing officer shall be 

maintained in accordance with regulations 

prescribed by the Secretary concerned and 

provided to the accused or the Government 

on request.’’ 

b. Two comments recommended 

amending RCM 702 to clarify that the 

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