Evening star., 1901-08-24
Something About Courts Of Inquiry
and Courts Martial.
ARE SURVIVALS OF CHlVALRlC AGE
Jacky's HomeIy Ideas of What All
the Toggery Means,
CLEAR BUT SLOW METHODS
Downright. l901.1

naNy-pSptS1aIlS ABOUT tue IhoiC Ici
general court-martial-is that the accused,
already adjudged, Is brought into court
cIanking in chains and between scowling
guards armed with barred blades, or, II the
occasion does not demand such personal re-
strictfon that the prisoner is still closely
watched and at all times given TO under
stand he is under the ban of the court
dispIeasure. In other words, that he has
transgreSsed the regulations and the laws
of the sea- and the court, much against its
own convenience Is going through a form
Incidental to an official declaration of what
the prisoner richly deserves, while he, poor
culprit stands there without right of rep
resentation. the drum-head procedure of
yore brought up to date.
Jacky. with his short-sighted spirit of
prejudice and his ever growing tendency TO
growl, has much To do with the popular
misconception of the intent and the actual
administration of justice in the navy. Any
old salt will tell you that a court-martal
Is "a clean, blamed farce. sir; short
shift to the brig. sir, from the time those
tinSeled old cocks makes SAIL sir. until
they comes to anchor with the full heft of
their 'tarnal mudhooks on y'r liberty n
half of y'r next years pay, sir. There ain t
nothing like the pretty practice of law
ashore, sir. with its double reefs for gale,
sir: y'r just has TO stand up and take the
full blow. sir. Why. | was wunst brought
up with a round turn. sir. for smuggling
Ticker aboard, n | had the sweetest aller-
by in the world, sir-I Just poured that
there rum down the throat of the ships
goat, sir, n, if y'rll believe me, sir Jimmy
LegS-thats what We calls the master-at-
arms, sir. he jest ore to that there goats
breath pn trial. sir. and they soaked me.
Lord, sir but l envied that there goat!
No, sir. there amt no sech thing as real
Justice in the navy, nohow.'
Customs of the Sen.
Whatever may have been the faults of
earlier practices, sometimes too losely COM
passed by the customs of the sea-" and
the measure of human error among the
members of the courts. those objections do
not lie to the same extent today, and it is
not saying too much to say that justice in
the navy is more often meted out with a
truer consideration for the real rights in
the case than can be claimed for the same
charges ashore. This. to a great extent, is
due tn the revisionary powers vested in the
law officers of the department, before whom
every trial. whether ii be court of inquiry
or a summary general court martial. must
pass before confirmation. This is a check,
exercised in these cases most carefully,
upon the legal technical incapacity of the
naval officers often forming such courts
The records Of the office of the judge ad-
yocate of the navy show that this revision.
AIRY power is exercised annually over NO
fewer than two thousand cases. the ma
jority of them. of course, being records of
the enlisted man in his rating. his pay
and his liberty. and errors in procedure
and sentence reflect upon the standing Of
the trial officers and are placed against
their service record. To guard against
this to a great measure the regulations of
the service contain a full list of offenses
and a table of corresponding limits of pun
iShment. while books of procedure pretty
accurately define the duties of the court
in the matters Of practice, so there is not
the margin for the imperfect personal
judgment exercised in the days now gone
For Big and Little Offenses.
The three forms of trial in the navy are
by courts of inquiry and by courts martial.
general and summary. The summary court
is the police court of the navy, and takes
cognizance Of most of Jacky's small in
fractions of the regulations These can
be ordered by the commanding officer of
any ship or station, no matter how small.
Courts Of inquiry and general courts-mar-
tiaI can be ordered only by the President,
the Secretary OF the Navy or the COM
mander-i chief Of our fleets on foreign
stations. The court of inquiry is for the
invest igati5n of commissioned officers, and
the court-martial for the trial of all COM
misSiOued officers and for the trial of such
enlisted men charged with either crimes
or very serious breaches of discipline.
Public interest at present is centered in
the procedure termed court of inquiry
Ashore. when one is charged with a Crimi
nal offenSe the matter is first brought to
the attention of the grand jury, and. If
true bill be found. an Indictment is issued
against the offender upon which he is tried
Guilt is not established, but certain facts
are that constitute a cause for action. A
court Of inquiry IN the navy is the nautical
equivalent Of the work of the grand jury
with the exception Of the color Of Crimi-
nality-it determines certain facts, the
probable basis OF charges to be subsequent
ly preferred but does not include an ex-
preston of opinion unless SO required by
particular the court OF inquiry differs, how
ever, from the work of the grand jury-the
court CT inquiry permitting the accused to
make explanation, to introduce witnesses
and To cross-examine those brought in by
the accuSer or the judge advocate of the
court. The purpose Of this is to prevent
court-martial and its stigma, even though
the officer be subsequently acquitted. A
court of inquiry does not, in itself, carry
any reprnach TO the person or persons un-
der investigatiOn-in fact, such a court Is
often asked for by officers jealous of their
good records and anxious lest their course
be questioned only when II is too late to
establish their correctness in the matter
Interesting at Present.
Ordinarily, court OF inquiry Is conducted
with the person under investigation pres
ent. but he need not be, and sometimes is
not. leaving his interests in the hands OF a
counsel The court is generally composed
of three officers senior to the accused, with
members of his own corps forming part IL
he be of the STAFF. and of a judge advocate
whose duties equivalent TO the public
prosecutor ashore. The judge advocate
should the case involve legal phases be-
yond the general ken OF a naval officer, is
allowed civ ilian counsel The accused en-
joys the same privilege and has the right
TO challenge the members of the court for
cause. Ali witnesses are sworn, both of
the service and without, and those OF the
service can be punished for contempt, while
any one. whether civilian or of the service,
can be punished afterwards in the courts
OF the land for perjury. Witnesses belong
ing to the service must obey a summons,
and are answerable for failure to do so,
but IL is source of regret that civilian
witnesSeS-often vital to proper admins
tration of justice-cannot be made TO
swer a subpoena. The charges against the
accused are generally embodied in the pre-
Cept to the court. generally termed in
structions," and constitute a brief, clear
and explicit statement of the matter be-
fore the court for investigation. The ac-
cuser may be either the department or
some one else, and the accused must be
served with copy OF the precept long
enough in advance to prepare his explain
alton or defense and to summon his wit
nesses.
The findings OF the court are conclusive
only so far as they furnish ground or
OIL n