republic-os/legal/us/code/title-10/chapter-53/section-1044f.md

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LegalText	10 U.S.C. § 1044f	Policies with respect to special trial counsel	us	united_states_code	code_section	10	ARMED FORCES	53	MISCELLANEOUS RIGHTS AND BENEFITS	1044f	10 U.S.C. § 1044f	current	119-100	2026-06-26	official	https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc10@119-100.zip	/us/usc/t10/s1044f	data/legal/raw/us/code/title-10/usc10.xml	6690519efeb670752b2aeecef169beaaaebc3c7e0f0c23a6d3210cce7fd06bec	06a2679d38355c44f4219c983fdad34009233205d6ba271593a4c1b17a739ec1	5c82e48d3f40a86f1a107dc6fb5fdc8724dba63d6c31cd155581965e20cd4098	2026-07-04	official	legal us-code

10 U.S.C. § 1044f - Policies with respect to special trial counsel

Text

(a) Policies Required.— The Secretary of Defense shall establish policies with respect to the appropriate mechanisms and procedures that the Secretaries of the military departments shall establish relating to the activities of special trial counsel, including expected milestones for such Secretaries to fully implement such mechanisms and procedures. Subject to subsection (c), the policies shall—

(1) provide for the establishment of a dedicated office within each military service from which office the activities of the special trial counsel of the military service concerned shall be supervised and overseen;

(2) provide for the appointment of one lead special trial counsel, who shall—

(A) be a judge advocate of that service in a grade no lower than O–7, with significant experience in military justice;

(B) be responsible for the overall supervision and oversight of the activities of the special trial counsel of that service; and

(C) report directly to the Secretary concerned, without intervening authority;

(3) ensure that within each office created pursuant to paragraph (1), the special trial counsel and other personnel assigned or detailed to the office—

(A) are independent of the military chains of command of both the victims and those accused of covered offenses and any other offenses over which a special trial counsel at any time exercises authority in accordance with section 824a of this title (article 24a); and

(B) conduct assigned activities free from unlawful or unauthorized influence or coercion;

(4) provide that special trial counsel shall be well-trained, experienced, highly skilled, and competent in handling cases involving covered offenses; and

(5) provide that commanders of the victim and the accused in a case involving a covered offense shall have the opportunity to provide input to the special trial counsel regarding case disposition, but that the input is not binding on the special trial counsel.

(b) Uniformity.— The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that any lack of uniformity in the implementation of policies, mechanisms, and procedures established under subsection (a) does not render unconstitutional any such policy, mechanism, or procedure.

(c) Special Trial Counsel of Department of the Air Force.— In establishing policies under subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense shall—

(1) in lieu of providing for separate offices for the Air Force and Space Force under subsection (a)(1), provide for the establishment of a single dedicated office from which office the activities of the special trial counsel of the Department of the Air Force shall be supervised and overseen; and

(2) in lieu of providing for separate lead special trial counsels for the Air Force and Space Force under subsection (a)(2), provide for the appointment of one lead special trial counsel who shall be responsible for the overall supervision and oversight of the activities of the special trial counsel of the Department of the Air Force.

(d) Military Service Defined.— In this section, the term “military service” means the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Space Force.

(Added Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title V, § 532(a), Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 1694; amended Pub. L. 117–263, div. A, title V, § 545(a), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 2584.)

Notes

Editorial Notes

Amendments2022—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 117–263, § 545(a)(1), substituted “Subject to subsection (c), the policies shall” for “The policies shall” in introductory provisions. Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 117–263, § 545(a)(2), (3), added subsec. (c) and redesignated former subsec. (c) as (d).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 2022 AmendmentPub. L. 117–263, div. A, title V, § 545(b), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 2584, provided that: “The amendments made subsection (a) [amending this section] shall take effect immediately after the coming into effect of the amendments made by section 532 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (Public Law 117–81; 135 Stat. 1694) [enacting this section] as provided in section 539C of that Act (10 U.S.C. 801 note).”

Effective DateSection effective on the date that is two years after Dec. 27, 2021, and applicable with respect to offenses that occur after that date, with provisions for delayed effect and applicability if regulations are not prescribed by the President before the date that is two years after Dec. 27, 2021, see section 539C of Pub. L. 117–81, set out as an Effective Date of 2021 Amendment note under section 801 of this title.