Court-Martial

1. General: military court composed of officers of the army appointed either by the President, by any general officer commanding an army, a territorial division, or department, or by a colonel commanding a separate department; it may consist of any number of officers from 5 to 13. An officer can be tried only thus, and the officers composing the court shall not, as a rule, be junior to the accused in rank. 2. Regimental and Garrison courts consist each of three officers appointed by the commander of the regiment or garrison to try offenses not capital: they have no power to try commi ioned officers, or to inflict a fine exceeding one month's pay, or to imprison or put to hard labor any soldier for more than one month. 3. In time of war a field-officer may be detailed in every regiment to try soldiers thereof for offenses not capital; and no soldier, serving with his regiment, shall be tried by a regimental or garrison court-martial, when a field officer may be so detailed. In time of peace the officer next in rank to the commander at a post constitutes a summary court to try offenses that would come under a regimental or garrison court, but the accused can choose to be tried by a garrison court instead.