Courts-Martial Administration - S-1 Procedural Page

Role and responsibility

The convening authority (Special Court-Martial Convening Authority or General Court-Martial Convening Authority) signs the referral and the post-trial action per Manual for Courts-Martial 2024 (MCM 2024) Rule for Courts-Martial 401-407 and Article 60. The trial counsel (Marine Corps Trial Services Office or Legal Services Support Section) carries the prosecution lead. The S-1 officer signs by direction on the routing of the charge sheet, the convening order distribution, and the record of trial admin. The S-1 chief tracks open courts-martial cases against the unit roster. The legal clerk processes the DD Form 458 Charge Sheet, the Article 32 preliminary hearing officer report when required, the convening order, and the record of trial materials. The post-trial Judge Advocate review per MCM 2024 Article 64 runs on every Summary Court-Martial.

Source documents flow from the chain of command's preferral decision, the trial counsel disposition recommendation per MCO 5800.16MCO 5800.16 Volume 16 Chapter 6, the Article 32 preliminary hearing officer report for general courts-martial per Rule for Courts-Martial 405, the convening authority referral per Volume 16, the trial proceedings, the verdict and sentence, and the post-trial action. Outputs include the certified DD Form 458 Charge Sheet, the convening order, the record of trial, the post-trial Judge Advocate review, the convening authority post-trial action, the MCTFS conviction transaction, the OMPF court-martial conviction entry per MCO P1070.12KMCO P1070.12K paragraph 4007, and the retained case file per SECNAV M 5210.1.

Per Volume 16 Chapter 6, the disposition decision routes charges to dismissal, administrative action, NJP, Summary Court-Martial, Special Court-Martial, or General Court-Martial based on the offense seriousness and the convening authority's discretion. Per MCM 2024 Article 64, every Summary Court-Martial routes to a Judge Advocate for post-trial review.

Trigger events

• Charge sheet preferral per Rule for Courts-Martial 307.
• Disposition decision routing the case to a court-martial level per Volume 16 Chapter 6.
• Article 32 preliminary hearing required for General Court-Martial per Rule for Courts-Martial 405.
• Convening authority referral signed per Rule for Courts-Martial 601.
• Trial date set requiring witness and evidence staging.
• Post-trial action required per Rule for Courts-Martial 1106 and Article 60.
• Summary Court-Martial conviction triggering Judge Advocate post-trial review per Article 64.
• IGMC Legal Administration FA inspection covers Courts-Martial.

Processing workflow

1. Receive the charge sheet. Per Rule for Courts-Martial 307, the accuser swears the charges before a commissioned officer. The unit receives the DD Form 458 Charge Sheet.
2. Coordinate disposition with trial counsel. Per MCO 5800.16MCO 5800.16 Volume 16 Chapter 6, the trial counsel and the convening authority decide the disposition (dismissal, administrative action, NJP, SCM, SPCM, or GCM).
3. Process Article 32 preliminary hearing. Per Rule for Courts-Martial 405, General Court-Martial cases route through an Article 32 preliminary hearing. The S-1 supports the appointment of the preliminary hearing officer and the staging of witnesses.
4. Cut the referral document. Per Rule for Courts-Martial 601 and Volume 16, the convening authority signs the referral. The trial counsel serves the accused.
5. Coordinate convening orders. The S-1 supports the convening order publication and the member appointment for SPCM and GCM.
6. Stage record of trial materials. The trial counsel and the court reporter produce the record of trial. The S-1 supports the routing.
7. Process post-trial review. Per Rule for Courts-Martial 1106 and Article 60, the staff judge advocate produces a recommendation. The convening authority acts on the case.
8. Forward Summary Court-Martial to Judge Advocate. Per MCM 2024 Article 64, every Summary Court-Martial routes to a Judge Advocate for the required post-trial review.
9. Cut MCTFS conviction transaction. Update MCTFS with the verdict, sentence, and any punitive discharge per MCTFSPRIUMMCTFSPRIUM.
10. Cut Page 11 OMPF entry. Per MCO P1070.12KMCO P1070.12K paragraph 4007, document the conviction.
11. Retain the case file. Per SECNAV M 5210.1 (2019) Schedules Cross Walked by Chapter, retain Summary Courts-Martial 2 years. Retain Special and General Courts-Martial 2 years after appellate review (or 2 years total if the servicing legal services is provided by another Service).

Systems of record and forms

Systems

• Electronic Military Justice Case Management System. Per Volume 16 Chapter 4 paragraph 040904(E)(3). Tracks courts-martial cases.
• Marine Corps Trial Services Office (TSO) / LSSS records. Holds the record of trial and post-trial review.
• MCTFS. Holds conviction status and punitive discharge.
• Unit Legal File. Holds the certified case packet per SECNAV M 5210.1.

Forms

• DD Form 458 Charge Sheet. Per Rule for Courts-Martial 307.
• DD Form 490 Record of Trial.
• DD Form 491 Summary Court-Martial Record of Trial.
• DD Form 494 Court-Martial Data Sheet.
• Convening Order. Per Volume 16.
• Article 32 Preliminary Hearing Officer Report. Per Rule for Courts-Martial 405.
• Post-Trial Action and Convening Authority Action. Per Rule for Courts-Martial 1106 and Article 60.
• Judge Advocate Post-Trial Review (Summary Court-Martial). Per Article 64.

Common pitfalls

• Summary Court-Martial not forwarded to Judge Advocate for post-trial review. Per MCM 2024 Article 64, the JA review is required.
• Summary Court-Martial case file destroyed before the 2-year retention. Per SECNAV M 5210.1, the retention is 2 years.
• Special or General Court-Martial case file destroyed before 2 years post appellate review. Per SECNAV M 5210.1, retain 2 years after completion of appellate review.
• Article 32 preliminary hearing skipped for General Court-Martial. Per Rule for Courts-Martial 405, the Article 32 hearing is required for GCM cases unless waived.
• Charge sheet sworn before an unauthorized officer. Per Rule for Courts-Martial 307, the accuser swears charges before a commissioned officer.
• Convening order publication missing required elements. The convening authority publishes per Volume 16 with the panel composition, the convening authority signature, and the docket information.
• MCTFS conviction transaction skipped. The pay and personnel record diverges from the legal record. Cut at conviction finality.
• Page 11 OMPF entry omitted. Per MCO P1070.12KMCO P1070.12K paragraph 4007, document every conviction.

Decision points

• SCM versus SPCM versus GCM. Per Volume 16 Chapter 6 and the Article 18-20 jurisdictional limits, the offense seriousness and the convening authority's discretion drive the level.
• Article 32 hearing waiver. Per Rule for Courts-Martial 405, the accused waives the preliminary hearing through the defense counsel.
• Post-trial action timing. Per Rule for Courts-Martial 1106 and Article 60, the convening authority acts on the case. The convening authority's action timing flows from the convening authority's authority over findings and sentence.
• Servicing legal services source. The unit's legal services source (LSSS, Trial Services Office, or another Service) drives the case management and retention details.

Authority

This sub-page sits under MCO 5800.16MCO 5800.16 Volume 16 Chapters 6, 8, and 9 covering disposition decision, trial procedures, and post-trial action. Manual for Courts-Martial 2024 sets parent UCMJ procedures including Article 64 (Summary Court-Martial post-trial review), Rule for Courts-Martial 307 (Preferral), Rule for Courts-Martial 401-407 (Disposition and Referral), Rule for Courts-Martial 405 (Article 32 Preliminary Hearing), Rule for Courts-Martial 1106 (Post-Trial Action), and Rule for Courts-Martial 1306 (Summary Court-Martial). SECNAV M 5210.1 (2019) sets the 2-year retention for SCM, SPCM, and GCM case files. MCO P1070.12KMCO P1070.12K paragraph 4007 covers Page 11 OMPF entries. The IGMC Legal Administration FA Checklist items 0201-0203 audit courts-martial admin compliance.

Related references

• MCO 5800.16 Volume 16. Marine Corps military justice framework.
• Manual for Courts-Martial 2024. UCMJ procedures.
• SECNAV M 5210.1. Retention schedule.
• MCO P1070.12K paragraph 4007. OMPF entries.
• IGMC Legal Administration FA Checklist items 0201-0203. Audit baseline.