(1) Any commissioned officer of the organized militia is eligible to serve on all courts-martial for the trial of any person who may lawfully be brought before such courts for trial.
(2) Any warrant officer of the organized militia is eligible to serve on general and special courts-martial for the trial of any person, other than a commissioned officer, who may lawfully be brought before such courts for trial.
(3)(a) Any enlisted member of the organized militia who is not a member of the same unit as the accused is eligible to serve on general and special courts-martial for the trial of any enlisted member who may lawfully be brought before such courts for trial, but shall serve as a member of a court only if, before the conclusion of a session called by the military judge under ORS 398.209, prior to trial or, in the absence of such a session, at least 30 days before the court is assembled for the trial of the accused, the accused personally or through counsel has requested in writing that enlisted members serve on it. After such a request, the accused may not be tried by a general or special court-martial the membership of which does not include enlisted members in a number comprising at least one-third of the total membership of the court, unless eligible enlisted members cannot be obtained on account of physical conditions or military exigencies. If such members cannot be obtained, the court may be convened and the trial held without them, but the convening authority shall make a detailed written statement, to be appended to the record, stating why they could not be obtained.
(b) As used in this subsection, “unit” means any regularly organized body of the organized militia not larger than a company, a squadron or a corresponding body.
(4)(a) When it can be avoided, no person subject to this chapter shall be tried by a court-martial any member of which is junior to the person in rank or grade.
(b) When convening a court-martial, the convening authority shall detail as members thereof such members of the organized militia as, in the opinion of the convening authority, are best qualified for the duty by reason of age, education, training, experience, length of service, and judicial temperament. No member of the organized militia is eligible to serve as a member of a general or special court-martial when the member is the accuser or a witness for the prosecution or has acted as investigating officer or as counsel in the same case.
(5) Before a court-martial is assembled for the trial of a case, the convening authority may excuse a member of the court from participating in the case. The convening authority may delegate any authority under this subsection to the State Judge Advocate or designee. [1961 c.454 §104; 1975 c.719 §12; 1985 c.682 §22; 2003 c.14 §171; 2005 c.512 §20]
Section: Previous 398.114 398.116 398.118 398.120 398.126 398.128 398.130 398.132 398.134 398.135 398.136 398.138 398.140 398.162 398.164 NextLast modified: August 7, 2008