Length of Imprisonment

How long you might be imprisoned depends more on the type of court-martial you face than on the crime you are charged with. The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) specifies maximum punishments for each crime, but not all military courts can give you the maximum punishment. For instance, if you're charged with disobeying an order of a superior commissioned officer (a violation of Article 90 of the UCMJ), you could in theory be sentenced to five years' confinement at hard labor and a Dishonorable Discharge. In practice, your sentence would depend on which court you faced. Here are the punishments which the courts could actually impose:

• Non-Judicial Punishment: NJP, strictly speaking, is not a court-martial. Punishment by NJP is not considered a criminal conviction or criminal record. But it's one of the ways you could be punished for refusing an order. If punishment is imposed by an officer of the rank of major or lieutenant commander or above, the maximum confinement would be 30 days. If punishment is imposed by an officer of lower rank, the maximum confinement would be seven days. An NJP cannot sentence you to a punitive discharge.
• Summary Court-Martial: The maximum punishment is one month confinement at hard labor. A Summary Court cannot sentence you to a punitive discharge.
• Special Court-Martial: The maximum punishment would be six months confinement at hard labor. A Special Court cannot sentence you to a punitive discharge.
• BCD Special Court-Martial: The maximum punishment would be six months confinement at hard labor and a Bad Conduct Discharge.
• General Court-Martial: A General Court-Martial may impose the maximum punishment allowed by the UCMJ--in this case, five years confinement at hard labor and a Dishonorable Discharge.
• Other Types of Punishments: Courts-martial may also punish you with hard labor without confinement, reprimand, restriction, pay forfeitures, reduction in rank, detention of pay, and fine. In the same way that there are limitations on each type of court's ability to sentence you to confinement, so too there are limits on these other types of punishments. See a military counselor or attorney or call the GI Rights Hotline for more information.

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