Chapter 131. To promote the administration of justice in the Navy
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CHAP. 131.— An Act To promote the administration of justice in the Navy. February 16, 1909.[[H. R. 6252](/us/bill/70/hr/6252).][[Public, No. 230.](/us/pl/70/230)] *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*, That courts for the trial ofNavy.Administration of justice in.Courts to try enlisted men for minor offenses. enlisted men in the Navy and Marine Corps for minor offenses now triable by summary court-martial may be ordered by the commanding officer of a naval vessel, by the commandant of a navy-yard or station, by a commanding officer of marines, or by higher naval authority.
Sec. 2. That such courts shall be known as “deck courts,” and shallDeck courts.Composition of.Powers. consist of one commissioned officer only, who, while serving in such capacity shall have power to administer oaths, to hear and determine cases, and to impose, in whole or in part, the punishments prescribed by article thirty of the Articles for the Government of the Navy: *Provided*, That in no case shall such courts adjudge discharge from*Proviso.*Limitations. the service or adjudge confinement of forfeiture of pay for a longer period than twenty days.
Sec. 3. That any person in the Navy under command of the officerRecorder to be detailed. by whose order a deck court is convened may be detailed to act as recorder thereof. Sec. 4. That the officer within whose command a deck court is sittingReview, etc., of sentence. shall have full power as reviewing authority to remit or mitigate, but not to commute, any sentence imposed by such court; but no sentence of a deck court shall be carried into effect until it shall have been so approved or mitigated, and such officer shall have power to pardon any punishment such court may adjudge.
Sec. 5. That the courts hereby authorized shall be governed in allProcedure, etc. details of their constitution, powers, and procedure, except as herein provided, by such rules and regulations as the President may prescribe. Sec. 6. That the records of the proceedings of the courts herebyRecord of proceedings. authorized shall contain such matters only as are necessary to enable the reviewing authorities to act intelligently thereon, except that if the party accused demands it within thirty days after the decision of the deck court shall become known to him, the entire record or so much as he desires shall be sent to the reviewing authority.
SuchReview of record by Judge-Advocate-General records, after action thereon by the convening authority, shall be forwarded directly to, and shall be filed in, the Office of the Judge-Advocate-General of the Navy, where they shall be reviewed, and, when necessary, submitted to the Secretary of the Navy for his action. Sec. 7. That no person who objects thereto shall be brought to trialRight of objection, etc. before a deck court. Where such objection is made by the person accused, trial shall be ordered by summary or by general court-martial, as may be appropriate.
Sec. 8. That the courts authorized to impose the punishments prescribedAdjudging punishments. by article thirty of the Articles for the Government of the Navy may adjudge either a part or the whole, as may be appropriate, of any one of the punishments therein enumerated: *Provided.* That*Proviso.*Use of irons a bolished.Exceptions. the use of irons, single or double, is hereby abolished, except for the purpose of safe custody or when part of a sentence imposed by a general court-martial.
Sec. 9. That the Secretary of the Navy may set aside the proceedingsCourt-martial proceedings may be set aside. or remit or mitigate, in whole or in part, the sentence imposed by any naval court-martial convened by his order or by that of any officer of the Navy or Marine Corps. Sec. 10. That general courts-martial may be convened by the President,Authority to convene. by the Secretary of the Navy, by the commander in chief of a fleet or squadron, and by the commanding officer of any naval station beyond the continental limits of the United States.
Sec. 11. That a naval court-martial or court of inquiry shall haveCourt of inquiry, etc., may issue process, etc. power to issue like process to compel witnesses to appear and testify which United States courts of criminal jurisdiction within the State, 622 Territory, or District where such naval court shall he ordered to sit may lawfully issue. Sec. 12. That any person duly subpoenaed to appear as a witnessWitnesses. before a general court-martial or court of inquiry of the Navy, who willfully neglects or refuses to appear, or refuses to qualify as a witnessPunishment for failure to appear. or to testify or produce documentary evidence, which such person may have been legally subpoenaed to produce, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, for which such person shall be punished on information in the district court of the United States; and it shall be the duty of the United States District Attorney, on the certification of the facts to him by such naval court to file an information against and prosecute the persons so offending, and the punishment of such person, on conviction, shall be a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or imprisonment not to exceed six months, or both, at the discretion of the court: *Provided*, That this shall not apply to persons residing*Provisos.*Exceptions. beyond the State, Territory, or District in which such naval court is held, and that the fees of such witnesses and his mileage at the ratesFees, etc. provided for witnesses in the United States district court for said State, Territory, or District shall be duly paid or tendered said witness, such amounts to be paid by the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts out of the appropriation for compensation of witnesses: *Provided further*, That no witness shall be compelled to incriminate himself or to answerIncriminating testimony not compulsory. any question which may tend to incriminate or degrade him.
Sec. 13. That persons confined in prisons in pursuance of the sentenceAllowance to prisoners. of a naval court-martial shall, during such confinement, be allowed a reasonable sum, not to exceed three dollars per month, for necessary prison expenses, and shall upon discharge be furnished with suitable civilian clothing and paid a gratuity, not to exceed twenty-five dollars: *Provided*, That such allowances shall be made in amounts to be fixed*Proviso.*Restriction. by, and in the discretion of, the Secretary of the Navy and only in cases where the prisoners so discharged would otherwise be unprovided with suitable clothing or without funds to meet their immediate needs.
Sec. 14. That section sixteen hundred and twenty-four, article thirty- four,Procedure in summary courts.R. S., sec. 1624, p. 282, amended. Revised Statutes of the United States, is hereby amended as follows: “The proceedings of summary courts-martial shall be conducted with as much conciseness and precision as may be consistent with the ends of justice, and under such forms and rules as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Navy, with the approval of the President, and all such proceedings shall be transmitted in the usual mode to the Navy Department, where they shall be kept on file for a period of twoRecord may be destroyed after two years. years from date of trial, after which time they may be destroyed in the discretion of the Secretary of the Navy.
” Sec. 15. That it shall be lawful for any civil officer having authorityArrest of deserters by civil officers. under the laws of the United States or of any State. Territory, or District to arrest offenders, to summarily arrest a deserter from the Navy or Marine Corps of the United States and deliver him into the custody of the naval authorities. Sec. 16. That the depositions of witnesses may be taken on reasonableDepositions accepted as evidence. notice to the opposite party, and when duly authenticated, may be put in evidence before naval courts, except in capital cases and casesExceptions. where the punishment may be imprisonment or confinement for more than one year as follows:
First, depositions of civilian witnesses residingOf whom accepted. outside the State, Territory, or District in which a naval court is ordered to sit; second, depositions of persons in the naval or military service stationed or residing outside the State, Territory, or District in which a naval court is ordered to sit, or who are under orders to go outside of such State, Territory, or District; third, where such naval court is convened on board a vessel of the United States, or at a naval station not within any State, Territory, or District of the United States, the depositions of witnesses may be taken and used as herein 623 provided whenever such witnesses reside or are stationed at such a distance from the place where said naval court is ordered to sit, or are about to go to such a distance as, in the judgment of the. convening authority, would render it impracticable to secure their personal attendance.
Sec. 17. That all sentences of summary courts-martial may be carriedApproval of sentences. into effect upon the approval of the senior officer present, and all sentences of deck courts may be carried into effect upon approval of the convening authority or his successor in office. Sec. 18. That all Acts or parts of Acts inconsistent herewith areRepeal. hereby repealed. Approved, February 16, 1909.