Chapter IX · Trial Procedures Through Findings

R.C.M. 911. Randomization and assembly of the court-martial panel

2024 Manual for Courts-Martial, United States

Recent revisions Summary of changes Cited by (16)

(a) Prior to assembly of the court-martial, at an open session of the court-martial, the military judge, or a designee thereof, shall randomly assign numbers to the members detailed by the convening authority.
(b) The military judge shall determine, after accounting for any excusals by the convening authority or designee, how many members detailed by the convening authority must be present at the initial session for which members are required. The required number of members shall be present, according to the randomly assigned order determined pursuant to R.C.M. 911(a). The military judge may temporarily excuse any member who has been detailed but is not required to be present.
(c) At the initial session for which members are required, the military judge shall cause the members who are present to be sworn, account on the record for any members who are temporarily excused, and then announce assembly of the court-martial.
(d) The military judge shall ensure any additional member is sworn at the first court session at which the member is present.
Discussion
The members are seated with the president, who is the senior member, in the center, and the other members alternately to the president’s right and left according to rank. If the rank of a member is changed, or if the membership of the court-martial changes, the members should be reseated accordingly. When an accused’s request to be tried by military judge alone is approved, the court-martial is ordinarily assembled immediately following approval of the request. In a special court-martial consisting of a military judge alone under Article 16(c)(2)(A), the court-martial is assembled prior to beginning of the trial on the merits. Assembly of the court-martial is significant because it marks the point after which: substitution of the members and military judge may no longer take place without good cause ( see Article 29, R.C.M. 505, 902, 912); the accused may no longer, as a matter of right, request trial by military judge alone or withdraw such a request previously approved ( see Article 16, R.C.M. 903(d)); and the accused may no longer request members even with the permission of the military judge, or withdraw from a request for members ( see Article 25(c)(2); R.C.M. 903(d)).
Cross-referencesCited by 16Cites 8Elsewhere 1
Cited by

Provisions elsewhere in the Manual whose text cites R.C.M. 911. Each link opens the citing provision.

Rules for Courts-Martial
Discussion under R.C.M. 503(a)(1)(C) — Detailing members, military judge, and counsel, and designating military magistrates
…authority should detail a sufficient number of qualified persons to allow for the randomization process in R.C.M. 911. A military judge may not impanel alternate members unless expressly authorized by the convening authority.…
R.C.M. 503(a)(1)(B)(iv) — Detailing members, military judge, and counsel, and designating military magistrates
…exceptional circumstances, a sufficient number of detailed members to allow for the randomization process in R.C.M. 911. Exceptional circumstances include circumstances in which the minimum required numbers of detailed members…
R.C.M. 503(a)(1)(F) — Detailing members, military judge, and counsel, and designating military magistrates
provide a list of the detailed members to the military judge to randomize in accordance with R.C.M. 911.
R.C.M. 804(c)(1) — Presence at court-martial proceedings (911(b))
…the absence of any detailed member except: Article 39(a) sessions under R.C.M. 803; temporary excusal under R.C.M. 911(b); examination of members under R.C.M. 912(d); when the member has been excused under R.C.M. 505, 912(f), or…
Discussion under R.C.M. 912(g)(2) — Challenge of selection of members; examination and challenges of members
…If a military judge orders the presence of additional detailed members for examination in accordance with R.C.M. 911, those additional detailed members must be subject to a peremptory challenge prior to impanelment. If the…
R.C.M. 912A(a) — Impaneling members and alternate members (911(a))
…of a general or special court-martial with members shall impanel the members based on the order assigned in R.C.M. 911(a), and, if authorized by the convening authority, alternate members, in accordance with the following…
R.C.M. 912A(c)(1) — Impaneling members and alternate members (911(b))
…or excusals, the number of detailed members directed to be present by the military judge in accordance with R.C.M. 911(b) is:
R.C.M. 912A(c)(1)(A) — Impaneling members and alternate members (911(a))
…R.C.M. 912A(a), the military judge shall, according to the randomly assigned order determined pursuant to R.C.M. 911(a), determine how many additional detailed members are required and shall direct their presence for member…
R.C.M. 912A(c)(1)(B) — Impaneling members and alternate members (911(a))
…R.C.M. 912A(b), the military judge shall, according to the randomly assigned order determined pursuant to R.C.M. 911(a), determine how many additional detailed enlisted members are required and shall direct their presence for…
R.C.M. 912A(d)(1)(A) — Impaneling members and alternate members (911(a))
…under R.C.M. 912A(a) and (b) in numerical order beginning with the lowest random number assigned pursuant to R.C.M. 911(a); and
R.C.M. 912A(d)(1)(B) — Impaneling members and alternate members (911(a))
…R.C.M. 912A(a) and (b), in numerical order beginning with the lowest random number assigned pursuant to R.C.M. 911(a).
R.C.M. 912A(d)(2) — Impaneling members and alternate members (911(a))
…under R.C.M. 912A(a) and (b) in numerical order beginning with the lowest random number assigned pursuant to R.C.M. 911(a).
R.C.M. 912A(d)(3)(A) — Impaneling members and alternate members (911(a))
…be identified in numerical order beginning with the lowest remaining random number assigned pursuant to R.C.M. 911(a), after first identifying members under R.C.M. 912A(d)(1) or (2).
R.C.M. 912A(d)(3)(B) — Impaneling members and alternate members (911(a))
…be identified in numerical order beginning with the lowest remaining random number assigned pursuant to R.C.M. 911(a), after first identifying the members under 912A(d)(1) or (2). The military judge shall identify no more than…
R.C.M. 912A(d)(3)(C) — Impaneling members and alternate members (911(a))
…be identified in numerical order beginning with the lowest remaining random number assigned pursuant to R.C.M. 911(a), after first identifying members under 912A(d)(1).
R.C.M. 912B(b) — Excusal and replacement of members after impanelment (911(a))
…with an impaneled alternate member. The alternate member with the lowest random number assigned pursuant to R.C.M. 911(a) shall replace the excused member, unless in the case of an enlisted accused, the use of such member would be…
R.C.M. 911 cites

Provisions named in the text of R.C.M. 911. Where the cited provision is on this site, the link opens it.