Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2005/12/22/05-23938/criminal-jurisdiction-over-civilians-employed-by-or-accompanying-the-armed-forces-outside-the-united
Timestamp: 2017-08-19 08:27:14
Document Index: 531681999

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 153', '§\u2009153', '§\u2009153', '§\u2009153', '§\u2009153', '§\u2009153']

A Proposed Rule by the Defense Department on 12/22/2005
75998-76010 (13 pages)
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/05-23938 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/05-23938
Forward comments to the Deputy General Counsel (Personnel and Health Policy), 1600 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-1600.
This proposed regulatory action is a significant regulatory action, as defined by Executive Order 12866 and has been reviewed by OMB and approved for publication.
This regulatory action will not impose any additional reporting or Start Printed Page 75999recordkeeping requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act.
Appendix B to Part 153—Acknowledgement of Limited Legal Representative (Sample)
Authority: 18 U.S.C. Chapter 212.
(a) Implements policies and procedures, and assigns responsibilities under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act of 2000, as amended by section 1088 of the “Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005,” (hereinafter the Act) for exercising extraterritorial criminal jurisdiction over certain military personnel, former service members of the United States Armed Forces, and over civilians employed by or accompanying the Armed Forces outside the United States (U.S.).
(c) While some Federal criminal statutes are expressly or implicitly extraterritorial, many acts described therein are criminal only if they are committed within “the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States” or if they affect interstate or foreign commerce. Therefore, in most instances, Federal criminal jurisdiction ends at the nation's borders. State criminal jurisdiction, likewise, normally ends at the boundaries of each State. Because of these limitations, acts committed by military personnel, former service members, and civilians employed by or accompanying the Armed Forces in foreign countries, which would be crimes if committed in the U.S., often do not violate either Federal or State criminal law. Similarly, civilians are generally not subject to prosecution under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), unless Congress had declared a “time of war” when the acts were committed. As a result, these acts are crimes, and therefore criminally punishable, only under the law of the foreign country in which they occurred. See section 2 of Report Accompanying the Act. While the U.S. could impose administrative discipline for such actions, the Act and this Part are intended to address the jurisdictional gap with respect to criminal sanctions.
(d) Nothing in this part may be construed to deprive a court-martial, military commission, provost court, or other military tribunal of concurrent jurisdiction with respect to offenders or offenses that by statute or the law of war may be tried by court-martial, military commission, provost court, or other military tribunal (18 U.S.C. 3261(c)). In some cases, conduct that violates section 3261(a) of the Act may also violate the UCMJ, or the law of war generally. Therefore, for military personnel, military authorities would have concurrent jurisdiction with a U.S. District Court to try the offense. The Act was not intended to divest the military of jurisdiction and recognizes the predominant interest of the military in disciplining its service members, while still allowing for the prosecution of members of the Armed Forces with non-military co-defendants in a U.S. District Court under section 3261(d) of the Act.
(b) Active Duty. Full-time duty in the active military service of the United States. It includes full-time training Start Printed Page 76000duty, annual training duty, and attendance, while in the active military service, at a school designated as a service school by law or by the Secretary of the Military Department concerned. See 10 U.S.C. 101(d)(1).
(c) Armed Forces. The Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard. See 10 U.S.C. 101(a)(4).
(e) Charged. As used in the Act and this part, this term is defined as an indictment or the filing of information against a person under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. See the analysis to Section 3264 of the Report Accompanying the Act.
(f) Civilian Component. A person or persons employed by the Armed Forces outside the United States, as defined in this section and section 3267(a)(1), as amended, of the Act. A term used in Status of Forces Agreements.
(g) Dependent. A person for whom a member of the Armed Forces, civilian employee, contractor (or subcontractor at any tier) has legal responsibility while that person is residing outside the United States with or accompanying that member of the Armed Forces, civilian employee, contractor (or subcontractor at any tier), and while that responsible person is so assigned, employed or obligated to perform a contractual obligation to the Department of Defense. For purposes of this part, a person's “command sponsorship” status while outside the United States is not to be considered in determining whether the person is a dependent within the meaning of this part, except that there shall be a rebuttable presumption that a command-sponsored individual is a dependent.
(h) Designated Commanding Officer (DCO). A single military commander in each foreign country where U.S. Forces are stationed and as contemplated by DoD Directive 5525.1,[1] Status of Forces Policy and Information.
(i) Detention. To be taken into custody by law enforcement officials and placed under physical restraint.
(j) District. A District Court of the United States.
(k) Employed by the Armed Forces Outside the United States. Any person employed as:
(l) Federal Magistrate Judge. As used in the Act and this part, this term includes both Judges of the United States and U.S. Magistrate Judges, titles that, in general, should be given their respective meanings found in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. (See footnote 32 of the Report to Accompany H. R. 3380, House of Representatives Report 106-778, July 20, 2000.) The term does not include Military Magistrates or Military Judges, as prescribed by the UCMJ, or regulations of the Military Departments or the Department of Defense.
(m) Felony Offense. Conduct that is an offense punishable by imprisonment for more than one year if the conduct had been engaged in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States. See sections 3261 of the Act and 18 U.S.C. 7. Although the Act, uses the conditional phrase “if committed within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States,” acts that would be a Federal crime regardless of where they are committed in the U.S., such as drug crimes contained in 21 U.S.C. chapter 13, also fall within the scope of section 3261(a) of the Act. See the analysis to section 3261 of the Report Accompanying the Act.
(n) Host Country National. A person who is not a citizen of the United States, but who is a citizen of the foreign country in which that person is located.
(o) Inactive Duty Training. Duty prescribed for Reservists by the Secretary of the Military Department concerned under 37 U.S.C. 206, or any other provision of law; and special additional duties authorized for Reservists by an authority designated by the Secretary of the Military Department concerned and performed by them on a voluntary basis in connection with the prescribed training or maintenance activities of the units to which they are assigned. Inactive Duty Training includes those duties performed by Reservists in their status as members of the National Guard while in Federal service. See 10 U.S.C. 101(d)(7).
(p) Juvenile. A person who has not attained his or her eighteenth birthday, as defined in 18 U.S.C. 5031.
(q) Military Department. The Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, and the Department of the Air Force. See 10 U.S.C. 101(a)(8).
(r) National of the United States. As defined in 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(22).
(s) Outside the United States. Those places that are not within the definition of “United States” below and, with the exception of subparagraph 7(9), those geographical areas and locations that are not within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, as defined in 18 U.S.C. 7. The locations defined in 18 U.S.C. 7(9) are to be considered “Outside the United States” for the purposes of this Part. See 18 U.S.C. 3261-3267.
(t) Qualified Military Counsel. Judge advocates assigned to or employed by the Military Services and designated by the respective Judge Advocate General, or a designee, to be professionally qualified and trained to perform defense counsel responsibilities under the Act.
(u) Staff Judge Advocate. A judge advocate so designated in the Army, the Air Force, the Marine Corps, or the Coast Guard; the principal legal advisor of a command in the Navy who is a judge advocate, regardless of job title. See Rule for Courts-Martial 103(17), Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2002 Edition).
(v) Third Country National. A person whose citizenship is that of a country other than the U.S. and the foreign country in which the person is located.
(w) United States. As defined in 18 U.S.C. 5, this term, as used in a territorial sense, includes all places and waters, continental or insular, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, except for the Panama Canal Zone.
(a) The General Counsel of the Department of Defense shall provide Start Printed Page 76001initial coordination and liaison with the Departments of Justice and State, on behalf of the Military Departments, regarding a case for which investigation and/or Federal criminal prosecution under the Act is contemplated. This responsibility may be delegated entirely, or delegated for categories of cases, or delegated for individual cases. The General Counsel, or designee, shall advise the Domestic Security Section of the Criminal Division, Department of Justice (DSS/DOJ), as soon as practicable, when DoD officials intend to recommend that the DOJ consider the prosecution of a person subject to the Act for offenses committed outside the United States. The Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, Department of Justice, has designated the Domestic Security Section (DSS/DOJ) as the Section responsible for the Act.
(2) Pursuant to section 8(c)(5) of the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended 5 U.S.C. App. 3), and 10 U.S.C. 141(b), ensure the responsibilities described in DoD Directive 5525.7,[2] “Implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding Between the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense Relating to the Investigation and Prosecution of Certain Crimes,” January 22, 1985,[3] to implement the investigative policies, monitor compliance by DoD criminal investigative organizations, and provide specific guidance regarding investigative matters, as appropriate are satisfied relative to violations of the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act of 2000.
(c) The Heads of Military Law Enforcement Organizations and Military Criminal Investigative Organizations, or Their Designees shall:
(2) Coordinate with the designated U.S. Attorney's office arrangements for a Federal Magistrate Judge to preside over the initial proceedings required by the Act. Although the assignment of a particular Federal Magistrate Judge shall ordinarily be governed by the jurisdiction where a prosecution is likely to occur, such an assignment does not determine the ultimate venue of any prosecution that may be undertaken. Appropriate venue is determined in accordance with the requirements of 18 U.S.C. 3238.
(5) Determine the suitability of the locations and conditions for the temporary detention of juveniles who commit violations of the Act within the Commander's area of responsibility. The conditions of such detention must, at a minimum, meet the following Start Printed Page 76002requirements: Juveniles alleged to be delinquent shall not be detained or confined in any institution or facility in which the juvenile has regular contact with adult persons convicted of a crime or awaiting trial on criminal charges; insofar as possible, alleged juvenile delinquents shall be kept separate from adjudicated delinquents; and every juvenile in custody shall be provided adequate food, heat, light, sanitary facilities, bedding, clothing, recreation, and medical care, including necessary psychiatric, psychological, or other care and treatment.
(f) The Secretaries of the Military Departments shall: (1) Consistent with the provisions of paragraph (c) of this section, make provision for defense counsel representation at initial proceedings conducted outside the United States pursuant to the Act for those persons arrested or charged with violations of section 3261(a) of the Act.
(3) Ensure that orientation training, as described in paragraph (f)(2) of this section, is also provided for all U.S. nationals who are, or who are scheduled to be, employed by or accompanying the Armed Forces outside the United States, including their dependents, and include information that such persons are potentially subject to the criminal jurisdiction of the United States under the Act.
(a) Applicability. (1) Offenses and Punishments. Section 3261(a) of the Act establishes a separate Federal offense under 18 U.S.C. for an act committed outside the United States that would be a felony crime as if such act had been committed within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, as defined in 18 U.S.C. 7. Charged as a violation of section 3261(a) of the Act, the elements of the offense and maximum punishment are the same as the crime committed within the geographical limits of 18 U.S.C. 7, but without the requirement that the conduct be committed within such geographical limits. See section 1 of the Section-By-Section Analysis and Discussion to section 3261 in the “Report Accompanying the Act.”
(2) Persons Subject to This Part. This part applies to certain military personnel, former military service members, and persons employed by or accompanying the Armed Forces outside the United States, and their dependents, as those terms are defined in § 153.3 of this part, alleged to have committed an offense under the Act while outside the United States. For purposes of the Act and this part, persons employed by or accompanying the Armed Forces outside the U.S. are subject to the “military law” of the U.S., but only to the extent to which this term has been used and its meaning and scope have been understood within the context of a SOFA or any other similar form of international agreement.
(5) Civilians Employed by the Armed Forces. Civilian employees employed by the U.S. Armed Forces outside the Start Printed Page 76003United States (as defined in § 153.3), who commit an offense under the Act while present or residing outside the U.S. in connection with such employment, are subject to the Act and the provisions of this part. Such civilian employees include:
(A) Reside with one of the persons listed in paragraph (a)(6)(i).
(iv) If the dependent is a juvenile, as defined in § 153.3, who engaged in conduct that is subject to prosecution under section 3261(a) of the Act, then the provisions of 18 U.S.C. chapter 403 would apply to U.S. District Court prosecutions.
(iv) Juveniles whose ages are below the minimum ages authorized for the prosecution of juveniles in U.S. District Court under the provisions of 18 U.S.C. chapter 403.
(v) Persons subject to the UCMJ (See 10 U.S.C. 802 and 803) are not subject to prosecution under the Act unless, pursuant to section 3261(d) of the Act, the member ceases to be subject to the UCMJ or an indictment or information charges that the member committed the offense with one or more other defendants, at least one of whom is not subject to the UCMJ. A member of a Reserve component who is subject to the UCMJ at the time the UCMJ offense was committed is not relieved from amenability to UCMJ jurisdiction for that offense. Such reserve component members are not subject to the Act unless section 3261(d)(2) of the Act applies. Retired members of a regular component who are entitled to pay remain subject to the UCMJ after retiring from active duty. Such retired members are not subject to prosecution under the Act unless section 3261(d)(2) of the Act applies.
(b) Investigation, Arrest, Detention, and Delivery of Persons to Host Nation Authorities. (1) Investigation. (i) Investigations of conduct reasonably believed to constitute a violation of the Act committed outside the United States must respect the sovereignty of the foreign nation in which the investigation is conducted. Such investigations shall be conducted in accordance with recognized practices with host nation authorities and applicable international law, SOFA and other international agreements. After general coordination with appropriate Start Printed Page 76004host nation authorities, as referenced in Appendix A of this part, specific investigations shall, to the extent practicable, be coordinated with appropriate local law enforcement authorities, unless not required by agreement with host nation authorities.
(iii) When the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) is the lead investigative organization, the criminal investigator, in order to assist the DSS/DOJ and the designated U.S. Attorney representative in making a preliminary determination of whether the case warrants prosecution under the Act, shall provide a copy of the Investigative Report, or a summary thereof, to the DSS/DOJ and the designated U.S. Attorney representative. The criminal investigator shall also furnish the DSS/DOJ and the designated U.S. Attorney representative, an affidavit or declaration that sets forth the probable cause basis for believing that a violation of the Act has occurred and that the person identified in the affidavit or declaration has committed the violation. Within the parameters of 5 U.S.C. App 3, the Inspector General may also notify the General Counsel of the Department of Defense and the DCO's Office of the Staff Judge Advocate at the location where the offense was committed, as appropriate.
(2) Residence Information. To the extent that it can be determined from an individual's personnel records, travel orders into the overseas theater, passport, or other records, or by questioning upon arrest or detention, as part of the routine “booking” information obtained, an individual's last known residence in the United States shall be determined and forwarded promptly to the DSS/DOJ and the designated U.S. Attorney representative. See Pennsylvania v. Muniz, 496 U.S. 582, at 601 (1990) and United States v. D'Anjou, 16 F.3d 604 (4th Cir. 1993). The information is necessary to assist in determining what law enforcement authorities and providers of pretrial services, including those who issue probation reports, shall ultimately have responsibility for any case that may develop. Determination of the individual's “last known address” in the United States is also important in determining what Federal district would be responsible for any possible future criminal proceedings.
(i) Due to the venue provisions of 10 U.S.C. 3238, the DSS/DOJ and the designated U.S. Attorney representative shall be consulted prior to removal of persons arrested or charged with a violation of the Act by U.S. law enforcement officials. The venue for Federal criminal jurisdiction over offenses committed on the high seas or elsewhere beyond the jurisdiction of a particular State or District (as would be required under the Act), is in the Federal district in which the offender is arrested or first brought. However, if the individual is not so arrested in or brought into any Federal district in the United States (i.e., is to be indicted, or an information obtained, prior to the individual's return to the United States), then an indictment or information may be sought in the district of the person's last known residence. If no such residence is known, the indictment or information may be filed in the District of Columbia.
(ii) The Act specifically authorizes persons in DoD law enforcement positions, as designated by the Secretary of Defense, to make arrests outside the United States, upon probable cause and in accordance with recognized practices with host nation authorities and applicable international agreements, those persons subject to the Act who violate section 3261(a) of the Act. Section 3262(a) of the Act constitutes authorization by law to conduct such functions pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 801-946 and therefore avoids possible restrictions of the Posse Comitatus Act Start Printed Page 76005regarding military personnel supporting civilian law enforcement agencies.
(iv) Military and civilian special agents assigned to the Defense Criminal Investigative Organizations are hereby authorized by the Secretary of Defense to make an arrest, outside the United States, of a person who has committed an offense under section 3261(a) of the Act. Civilian special agents assigned to Defense Criminal Investigative Organizations while performing duties outside the U.S. shall make arrests consistent with the standardized guidelines established for such agents, as approved in accordance with 10 U.S.C. 1585a, 4027, 7480, and 9027.
(vii) The foregoing authorization to DoD law enforcement personnel to arrest persons subject to 18 U.S.C. chapter 212, for violations of the Act is not intended as a limitation upon the authority of other Federal law enforcement officers to effect arrests when authorized to do so. (e.g., see 18 U.S.C. 3052 authorizing agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to make arrests “for any felony cognizable under the laws of the United States, 21 U.S.C. 878(a)(3) for the same authority for Drug Enforcement Administration agents, and 18 U.S.C. 3053 for the same authority for U.S. Marshals and their deputies.)
(A) Temporary detention should be ordered only when a serious risk is believed to exist that the person shall flee and not appear, as required, for any pretrial investigation, pretrial hearing or trial proceedings, or the person may engage in serious criminal misconduct (e.g., the intimidation of witnesses or other obstructions of justice, causing injury to others, or committing other offenses that pose a threat to the safety of the community or to the national security of the United States). The decision as to whether temporary detention is appropriate shall be made on a case-by-case basis. 18 U.S.C. 3142 provides additional guidance regarding conditions on release and factors to be considered.
(iii) Persons arrested or charged with a violation of the Act, upon being ordered into temporary detention and processed into the detention facility, shall, as part of the processing procedures, be required to provide the location address of their last U.S. residence as part of the routine booking questions securing “biographical data necessary to complete booking or pretrial services.” See United States v. D'Anjou, 16 F.3d 604 (4th Cir.1993). This information shall be recorded in the detention documents and made available to the DCO's Office of the Staff Judge Advocate. This information shall be forwarded with other case file information, including affidavits in support of probable cause supporting the arrest and detention, to the DSS/DOJ. The information is provided so that the DSS/DOJ may make appropriate preliminary decisions about venue. See paragraph (b)(2) of this section.
(A) Notice of the temporary detention of any person for a violation of the Act shall be forwarded through command channels, without unnecessary delay, to the Combatant Commander, who shall advise the General Counsel of the Department of Defense, as the representative of the Secretary of Defense, of all such detentions. At the discretion of the General Counsel of the Department of Defense, other agencies and organizations (such as the Legal Start Printed Page 76006Counsel to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of the Military Department that sponsored the person into the foreign country) shall be informed, as appropriate.
(v) In coordination with appropriate host nation authorities, U.S. civilian law enforcement authorities shall be responsible for taking custody of a person arrested or charged with a violation of the Act and for the removal of that person to the United States for any pretrial or trial proceedings. DoD officials shall consult with the DSS/DOJ to determine which civilian law enforcement authority (i.e., U.S. Marshals Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Agency, or other Federal agency) shall dispatch an officer to the overseas' detention facility to assume custody of the person for removal to the United States. Until custody of the person is delivered to such U.S. civilian law enforcement authorities, military authorities retain responsibility for the custody and transportation of the person arrested or charged with a violation of the Act, to include transportation within the host nation to help facilitate the removal of the person to the United States under the Act.
(A) Authorities of a foreign country request that the person be delivered for Start Printed Page 76007trial because the conduct is also a violation of that foreign country's laws, and
(iii) Ensure that the person arrested or charged under the Act is informed that any qualified military counsel shall be made available only for the limited purpose of representing that person in any initial proceedings that are to be conducted outside the United States, and that such representation does not extend to further legal proceedings that may occur either in a foreign country or the United States. The person arrested Start Printed Page 76008or charged shall also be required, in writing, to acknowledge the limited scope of qualified military counsel's representation and therein waive that military counsel's further representation in any subsequent legal proceedings conducted within a foreign country or the United States. The “Acknowledgement of Limited Representation,” at appendix A of this part, may be used for this purpose. A copy of the “Acknowledgement of Limited Representation” shall be provided to the person arrested or charged under the Act, as well as to the qualified military counsel. The original acknowledgement shall be kept on file in the DCO's Office of the Staff Judge Advocate.
(iv) Provide available information that would assist the Federal Magistrate Judge make a determination that qualified civilian counsel are unavailable, and that the person arrested or charged under the Act is unable financially to retain civilian defense counsel, before a qualified military counsel who has been made available is assigned to provide limited representation. See Analysis and Discussion of Section 3265(c), Report Accompanying the Act.
(3) Union Representation. Agency law enforcement officials shall comply with applicable Federal civilian employee rights and entitlements, if any, regarding collective bargaining unit representation under 5 U.S.C. chapter 71, during pretrial questioning and temporary detention procedures under this part.
(8) In the event that the Federal Magistrate Judge orders the person's release prior to trial, and further directs the person's presence in the district in which the trial is to take place, the U.S. Attorney Office's representative responsible for prosecuting the case shall inform the military representative Start Printed Page 76009and the DCO's Office of the Staff Judge Advocate.
(ii) A Federal Magistrate Judge orders the detention of the person prior to trial (See 18 U.S.C. 3142(e), in which case the person shall be promptly removed to the United States for such detention; or
(c) Former members of the Armed Forces who commit felony offenses while serving as a member of the Armed Forces outside the U.S., but who ceased to be subject to UCMJ court-martial jurisdiction without having been tried by court-martial for such offenses are subject to U.S. criminal jurisdiction under the Act and shall be held accountable for their actions, as appropriate.
(e) Consistent with the long-standing policy of maximizing U.S. jurisdiction over its citizens, the Act and this part provide a mechanism for furthering this objective by closing a jurisdictional gap in U.S. law and thereby permitting the criminal prosecution of covered persons for offenses committed outside the United States. In so doing, the Act and this part provide, in appropriate cases, an alternative to a host nation's exercise of its criminal jurisdiction should Start Printed Page 76010the conduct that violates U.S. law also violate the law of the host nation, as well as a means of prosecuting covered persons for crimes committed in areas in which there is no effective host nation criminal justice system.
1. I, __________, have been named as a suspect or defendant in a matter to which I have been advised is subject to the jurisdiction of the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act of 2000 (18 U.S.C. 3261, et. seq.); hereinafter referred to as “the Act”. I have also been informed that certain initial proceedings under 18 U.S.C. 3265 may be required under this Act, for which I am entitled to be represented by legal counsel.
3. Pursuant to the Act, __________, a Federal Magistrate Judge, has issued the attached Order and has directed that that military counsel be made available:
4. _________, military counsel, has been made available in accordance with Department of Defense Instruction 5525.bb, and as directed by the attached Order of a Federal Magistrate Judge.
5. I (do) (do not) wish to be represented by __________, military counsel ___ (Initials).
6. I understand that the legal representation of __________, military counsel, is limited to:
b. The initial detention hearing to be conducted outside the United States pursuant to the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act of 2000 (18 U.S.C. 3261, et. seq.). _____ (Initials)
c. Other proceedings (Specify): __________. ___ (Initials) __________
Signature of Person To Be Represented By Military Counsel __________
2. See footnote 1 to § 153.3(h).
3. See footnote 1 to § 153.3(h).
[FR Doc. 05-23938 Filed 12-21-05; 8:45 am]