In one case, where the court member authenticated the accused's service record but the accused had plead guilty, the Navy Board of Review refused to find error. Obviously, the qualifications of a member of a court are not contingent upon nor affected by the accused's plea. Unavailability by regulation. By regulation, the services may restrict the availability of certain members. There has been some confusion concerning specific types of court members.
Lawyers are qualified to serve as court members.
As chapter 3 pointed out, the Articles of War contemplated that one of the court members could be a lawyer. However, the advent of the military judge makes it unnecessary to include a lawyer among the court members. Moreover, there is a danger that, if one court member is a lawyer, he or she will usurp the other members' functions, or they will be unduly swayed by the lawyer's views. Consequently, the Court of Military Appeals discourages the practice of detailing legal officers as court members. Courts have discouraged the unnecessary selection of military police, however.