II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1789 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to reform procedures for determinations on disposition of charges and the convening of courts-martial for 

certain offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 11, 2019 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. LEAHY, 

Mr. DURBIN, Ms. WARREN, Mr. BENNET, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, Mr. WYDEN, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. HASSAN, Ms. BALDWIN, 

Mr. COONS, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. UDALL, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. BROWN, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Ms. SMITH, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. 

SANDERS, Mr. CASEY, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. PAUL, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. MARKEY, 

Mr. HEINRICH, and Ms. DUCKWORTH) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to reform procedures 

for determinations on disposition of charges and the convening of courts-martial for certain offenses under the 

Uniform Code of Military Justice, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military Justice Im3 provement Act of 2019’’. 

4 SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT OF DETERMINATIONS ON DISPOSI5 TION OF CHARGES FOR CERTAIN OFFENSES 

6 UNDER UCMJ WITH AUTHORIZED MAXIMUM 

7 SENTENCE OF CONFINEMENT OF MORE THAN 

8 ONE YEAR. 

9 (a) IMPROVEMENT OF DETERMINATIONS.— 

10 (1) MILITARY DEPARTMENTS.—With respect to 

11 charges under chapter 47 of title 10, United States 

12 Code (the Uniform Code of Military Justice), that 

13 allege an offense specified in subsection (b) and not 

14 excluded under subsection (c), the Secretary of De15 fense shall require the Secretaries of the military de16 partments to provide as described in subsection (d) 

17 for the determinations as follows: 

18 (A) Determinations under section 830 of 

19 such chapter (article 30 of the Uniform Code of 

20 Military Justice) on the preferral of charges. 

21 (B) Determinations under section 830 of 

22 such chapter (article 30 of the Uniform Code of 

23 Military Justice) on the disposition of charges. 

24 (C) Determinations under section 834 of 

25 such chapter (article 34 of the Uniform Code of 

26 Military Justice) on the referral of charges. 


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1 (2) HOMELAND SECURITY.—With respect to 

2 charges under chapter 47 of title 10, United States 

3 Code (the Uniform Code of Military Justice), that 

4 allege an offense specified in subsection (b) and not 

5 excluded under subsection (c) against a member of 

6 the Coast Guard (when it is not operating as a serv7 ice in the Navy), the Secretary of Homeland Secu8 rity shall provide as described in subsection (d) for 

9 the determinations as follows: 

10 (A) Determinations under section 830 of 

11 such chapter (article 30(a) of the Uniform Code 

12 of Military Justice) on the preferral of charges. 

13 (B) Determinations under section 830 of 

14 such chapter (article 30 of the Uniform Code of 

15 Military Justice) on the disposition of charges. 

16 (C) Determinations under section 834 of 

17 such chapter (article 34 of the Uniform Code of 

18 Military Justice) on the referral of charges. 

19 (b) COVERED OFFENSES.—An offense specified in 

20 this subsection is an offense as follows: 

21 (1) An offense under chapter 47 of title 10, 

22 United States Code (the Uniform Code of Military 

23 Justice), for which the maximum punishment au24 thorized under that chapter includes confinement for 

25 more than one year. 


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1 (2) The offense of obstructing justice under sec2 tion 931b of title 10, United States Code (article 

3 131b of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), re4 gardless of the maximum punishment authorized 

5 under that chapter for such offense. 

6 (3) The offense of retaliation for reporting a 

7 crime under section 932 of title 10, United States 

8 Code (article 132 of the Uniform Code of Military 

9 Justice), regardless of the maximum punishment au10 thorized under that chapter for such offense. 

11 (4) A conspiracy to commit an offense specified 

12 in paragraphs (1) through (3) as punishable under 

13 section 881 of title 10, United States Code (article 

14 81 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice). 

15 (5) A solicitation to commit an offense specified 

16 in paragraphs (1) through (3) as punishable under 

17 section 882 of title 10, United States Code (article 

18 82 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice). 

19 (6) An attempt to commit an offense specified 

20 in paragraphs (1) through (3) as punishable under 

21 section 880 of title 10, United States Code (article 

22 80 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice). 

23 (c) EXCLUDED OFFENSES.—Subsection (a) does not 

24 apply to an offense as follows: 


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1 (1) An offense under sections 883 through 917 

2 of title 10, United States Code (articles 83 through 

3 117 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice). 

4 (2) An offense under section 933 or 934 of title 

5 10, United States Code (articles 133 and 134 of the 

6 Uniform Code of Military Justice). 

7 (3) A conspiracy to commit an offense specified 

8 in paragraph (1) or (2) as punishable under section 

9 881 of title 10, United States Code (article 81 of the 

10 Uniform Code of Military Justice). 

11 (4) A solicitation to commit an offense specified 

12 in paragraph (1) or (2) as punishable under section 

13 882 of title 10, United States Code (article 82 of the 

14 Uniform Code of Military Justice). 

15 (5) An attempt to commit an offense specified 

16 in paragraph (1) or (2) as punishable under section 

17 880 of title 10, United States Code (article 80 of the 

18 Uniform Code of Military Justice). 

19 (d) REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITATIONS.—The dis20 position of charges covered by subsection (a) shall be sub21 ject to the following: 

22 (1) The determination whether to prefer such 

23 charges or refer such charges to a court-martial for 

24 trial, as applicable, shall be made by a commissioned 

25 officer of the Armed Forces designated in accordVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:28 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1789.IS S1789

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1 ance with regulations prescribed for purposes of this 

2 subsection from among commissioned officers of the 

3 Armed Forces in grade O–6 or higher who— 

4 (A) are available for detail as trial counsel 

5 under section 827 of title 10, United States 

6 Code (article 27 of the Uniform Code of Mili7 tary Justice); 

8 (B) have significant experience in trials by 

9 general or special court-martial; and 

10 (C) are outside the chain of command of 

11 the member subject to such charges. 

12 (2) Upon a determination under paragraph (1) 

13 to refer charges to a court-martial for trial, the offi14 cer making that determination shall determine 

15 whether to refer such charges for trial by a general 

16 court-martial convened under section 822 of title 10, 

17 United States Code (article 22 of the Uniform Code 

18 of Military Justice), or a special court-martial con19 vened under section 823 of title 10, United States 

20 Code (article 23 of the Uniform Code of Military 

21 Justice). 

22 (3) A determination under paragraph (1) to 

23 prefer charges or refer charges to a court-martial for 

24 trial, as applicable, shall cover all known offenses, 

25 including lesser included offenses. 


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1 (4) The determination to prefer charges or 

2 refer charges to a court-martial for trial, as applica3 ble, under paragraph (1), and the type of court-mar4 tial to which to refer under subparagraph (B), shall 

5 be binding on any applicable convening authority for 

6 the referral of such charges. 

7 (5) The actions of an officer described in para8 graph (1) in determining under that paragraph 

9 whether or not to prefer charges or refer charges to 

10 a court-martial for trial, as applicable, shall be free 

11 of unlawful or unauthorized influence or coercion. 

12 (6) The determination under paragraph (1) not 

13 to refer charges to a general or special court-martial 

14 for trial shall not operate to terminate or otherwise 

15 alter the authority of commanding officers to refer 

16 charges for trial by summary court-martial convened 

17 under section 824 of title 10, United States Code 

18 (article 24 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), 

19 or to impose non-judicial punishment in connection 

20 with the conduct covered by such charges as author21 ized by section 815 of title 10, United States Code 

22 (article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice). 

23 (e) CONSTRUCTION WITH CHARGES ON OTHER OF24 FENSES.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to 

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1 ity of charges under chapter 47 of title 10, United States 

2 Code (the Uniform Code of Military Justice), that allege 

3 an offense for which the maximum punishment authorized 

4 under that chapter includes confinement for one year or 

5 less. 

6 (f) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries of the mili8 tary departments and the Secretary of Homeland 

9 Security (with respect to the Coast Guard when it 

10 is not operating as a service in the Navy) shall re11 vise policies and procedures as necessary to comply 

12 with this section. 

13 (2) UNIFORMITY.—The General Counsel of the 

14 Department of Defense and the General Counsel of 

15 the Department of Homeland Security shall jointly 

16 review the policies and procedures revised under this 

17 subsection in order to ensure that any lack of uni18 formity in policies and procedures, as so revised, 

19 among the military departments and the Depart20 ment of Homeland Security does not render uncon21 stitutional any policy or procedure, as so revised. 

22 (g) MANUAL FOR COURTS-MARTIAL.—The Secretary 

23 of Defense shall recommend such changes to the Manual 

24 for Courts-Martial as are necessary to ensure compliance 

25 with this section. 


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1 SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF OFFICERS AUTHORIZED TO CON2 VENE GENERAL AND SPECIAL COURTS-MAR3 TIAL FOR CERTAIN OFFENSES UNDER UCMJ 

4 WITH AUTHORIZED MAXIMUM SENTENCE OF 

5 CONFINEMENT OF MORE THAN ONE YEAR. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 822 of 

7 title 10, United States Code (article 22 of the Uniform 

8 Code of Military Justice), is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (8) and (9) as 

10 paragraphs (9) and (10), respectively; and 

11 (2) by inserting after paragraph (7) the fol12 lowing new paragraph (8): 

13 ‘‘(8) with respect to offenses to which section 

14 2(a) of the Military Justice Improvement Act of 

15 2019 applies, the officers in the offices established 

16 pursuant to section 3(c) of that Act or officers in 

17 the grade of O–6 or higher who are assigned such 

18 responsibility by the Chief of Staff of the Army, the 

19 Chief of Naval Operations, the Chief of Staff of the 

20 Air Force, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, or 

21 the Commandant of the Coast Guard;’’. 

22 (b) NO EXERCISE BY OFFICERS IN CHAIN OF COM23 MAND OF ACCUSED OR VICTIM.—Such section (article) is 

24 further amended by adding at the end the following new 

25 subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(c) An officer specified in subsection (a)(8) may not 

2 convene a court-martial under this section if the officer 

3 is in the chain of command of the accused or the victim.’’. 

4 (c) OFFICES OF CHIEFS OF STAFF ON COURTS-MAR5 TIAL.— 

6 (1) OFFICES REQUIRED.—Each Chief of Staff 

7 of the Armed Forces or Commandant specified in 

8 paragraph (8) of section 822(a) of title 10, United 

9 States Code (article 22(a) of the Uniform Code of 

10 Military Justice), as amended by subsection (a), 

11 shall establish an office to do the following: 

12 (A) To convene general and special courts13 martial under sections 822 and 823 of title 10, 

14 United States Code (articles 22 and 23 of the 

15 Uniform Code of Military Justice), pursuant to 

16 paragraph (8) of section 822(a) of title 10, 

17 United States Code (article 22(a) of the Uni18 form Code of Military Justice), as so amended, 

19 with respect to offenses to which section 2(a) 

20 applies. 

21 (B) To detail under section 825 of title 10, 

22 United States Code (article 25 of the Uniform 

23 Code of Military Justice), members of courts24 martial convened as described in subparagraph 

25 (A). 


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1 (2) PERSONNEL.—The personnel of each office 

2 established under paragraph (1) shall consist of such 

3 members of the Armed Forces and civilian personnel 

4 of the Department of Defense, or such members of 

5 the Coast Guard or civilian personnel of the Depart6 ment of Homeland Security, as may be detailed or 

7 assigned to the office by the Chief of Staff or Com8 mandant concerned. The members and personnel so 

9 detailed or assigned, as the case may be, shall be de10 tailed or assigned from personnel billets in existence 

11 as of the effective date for this Act specified in sec12 tion 6. 

13 SEC. 4. DISCHARGE USING OTHERWISE AUTHORIZED PER14 SONNEL AND RESOURCES. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries of the military 

16 departments and the Secretary of Homeland Security 

17 (with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating 

18 as a service in the Navy) shall carry out sections 2 and 

19 3 using personnel, funds, and resources otherwise author20 ized by law. 

21 (b) NO AUTHORIZATION OF ADDITIONAL PER22 SONNEL OR RESOURCES.—Sections 2 and 3 shall not be 

23 construed as authorizations for personnel, personnel bil24 lets, or funds for the discharge of the requirements in such 

25 sections. 


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1 SEC. 5. MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT OF MODIFICATION 

2 OF AUTHORITIES BY DEFENSE ADVISORY 

3 COMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATION, PROSECU4 TION, AND DEFENSE OF SEXUAL ASSAULT IN 

5 THE ARMED FORCES. 

6 Section 546(c) of the Carl Levin and Howard P. 

7 ‘‘Buck’’ McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for 

8 Fiscal Year 2015 (10 U.S.C. 1561 note) is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘on the investigation’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘on the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) The investigation’’; and 

13 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

14 subparagraph: 

15 ‘‘(B) The implementation and efficacy of 

16 sections 2 through 4 of the Military Justice Im17 provement Act of 2019 and the amendments 

18 made by such sections.’’; and 

19 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

20 (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)(A)’’. 

21 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY. 

22 (a) EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY.—This 

23 Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take ef24 fect 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

25 and shall apply with respect to any allegation of charges 

26 of an offense specified in subsection (a) of section 2, and 


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1 not excluded under subsection (c) of section 2, which of2 fense occurs on or after such effective date. 

3 (b) REVISIONS OF POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.— 

4 Any revision of policies and procedures required of the 

5 military departments or the Department of Homeland Se6 curity as a result of this Act and the amendments made 

7 by this Act shall be completed so as to come into effect 

8 together with the coming into effect of this Act and the 

9 amendments made by this Act in accordance with sub10 section (a). 

Æ 


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