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amending order used to temporarily remove officer
members from a previously established court without
replacements for a specific case only. Figure 6-9 shows
a GCM amending order used to permanently remove an
officer member from a previously established court and
replace that member with a new officer member.
The previous samples show some of the various
types of amending orders and the intended purposes of
each different type. These samples can be modified for
usc in amending either an SPCM or a GCM convening
order simply by changing the heading and the body to
read the appropriate type of order.
Keep in mind,
however, that the basic format of these samples will not
change regardless of the type of order you are amending.
Distribution
The original convening order and any amendments are
inserted in the original record of trial. Provide copies of
the convening order and any amending orders to the TC,
DC, military judge, court reporter, and the file.
PRETRIAL AGREEMENTS
What is a pretrial agreement? As the name itself
indicates, a pretrial agreement is an agreement made
before the trial between the accused and the CA. The
agreement stipulates the maximum sentence that the CA
will approve in return for a guilty plea of the accused.
Actually, it is not quite that simple, as the following
discussion will bear out.
Purpose
Pretrial agreements arc advantageous to both the
government and the accused. By entering into an
agreement with the CA, the accused knows in advance
the maximum sentence that the CA will approve. On
the other hand, through advanced planning, the
government can effect savings in money and manpower
while also effecting the expeditious administration of
justice. Therefore, from the government’s viewpoint,
savings is the primary purpose of entering into pretrial
agreements with accused persons. From the accused
person’s point of view, he or she has the advantage of
knowing beforehand what his or her maximum sentence
will be.
This is true provided the accused is in fact guilty and
desires to plead guilty.
A pretrial agreement may include (1) a promise by
the accused to plead guilty to or to enter a confessional
Figure 6-9.-General court-martial amending order permanently removing an officer member from a previously established court
and replacing that member with a new officer member.
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