752 ESTABLISHMENT OF MILITARY JUSTICE .

warrant reference of the case for trial . It is safe to say that it very rarely
happens, if ever, that the convening authority sees or examines the charge s
before their reference for trial . The staff judge advocate is a lawyer, of no t
less than the rank of major, carefully selected by the Judge Advocate Genera l
of the Army for the very duty of impartially examining the evidence to de -
termine if a prima-facie case has been presented. Many of these officers hav e
had years of experience at the bar in civil practice . The charges, if warrant-
ing trial by general court-martial, are forwarded directly to the trial judge
advocate. This is usually an officer of the line not above the grade of
captain . He is supposed to be the legal adviser to the court and to safe-
guard the rights of the accused . Before the war, there were but few officers
who were not competent, as a result of their education in military law, t o
perform this important duty . Since the war, unless the trial judge advocat e
was a lawyer in civil practice, he was manifestly unfit to undertake this duty .
It was practically impossible for any captain or lieutenant to acquire, in the
short time at his disposal, sufficient knowledge of military law to act in an y
legal capacity.
The 1,500 cases examined indicate that the following officers acted as tria l
judge advocate :

Officers ' Trio Is o f

trials . enlisted
men.

Colane's 2
M la's : 18 71
Capt ins 36 51 8
First tie aten nts 18 522
Secon ilieatenants 10 245

The following acted as assistant trial judge advocate :

Officers ' Tri ; is of

trials . enmcniste d
.

Cant ins 9 24
Fi stle atn n's 13 177
Seen 1lieatenAnts 11 312

The accused is very rarely without a commissioned officer as counsel . He i s

supplied one, unless he states to the court that he does not desire counsel .
The record must affirmatively show that he was offered counsel and declined .
Counsel for the accused is not a detail sought by officers, is not a pleasant
duty, and is usually performed by roster . It is believed that, as a rule, the
officers detailed serve the accused to the best of their ability, but their inca-
pacity, since the outbreak of the war, judging by their rank, has been apparent ,
except in those cases where the counsel assigned was a lawyer in civil practic e
prior to his entrance into the Army . The cases examined by this office reveal
the fact that the following officers have served as counsel :

Officers' Trials of
trials . enliste
men .
d

M sjars 22 48
Caot ins 20 232
First lieuten nts 17 345
Sea n i ieuten nts 10 433
Lieuten nts (grade not stated) 6 214
Ch nl ins 1 33
Enistel men 3
Ci iti.-ns 2 11
None 4 99