Legal Definitions - former punishment

Former punishment is a principle within military law that prevents a service member from being tried by a court-martial for a minor offense if they have already received a nonjudicial punishment for that exact same offense.

In simpler terms, if a military member has already faced a lesser, administrative consequence for a small infraction, they generally cannot then be subjected to a more serious, formal military trial for the very same incident. This rule helps ensure fairness by preventing a service member from being punished twice for the same minor wrongdoing within the military justice system. Nonjudicial punishment refers to administrative actions taken by a commanding officer, such as an Article 15 in the Army/Air Force, Captain's Mast in the Navy/Coast Guard, or Office Hours in the Marine Corps. A court-martial is a formal military trial, similar to a civilian court trial, but conducted under military law.

• Example 1: Minor Disobedience

  A Marine private is late for formation multiple times and, as a result, receives an Article 15 (a form of nonjudicial punishment) from their commanding officer. This punishment involves a reduction in rank and extra duty. Under the rule of former punishment, the military cannot then decide to pursue a court-martial against that private for those specific instances of tardiness, as they have already been administratively punished for them.

• Example 2: Negligent Damage to Property

  An Air Force staff sergeant accidentally damages a non-critical piece of base equipment due to a momentary lapse in attention. Their squadron commander imposes a nonjudicial punishment, requiring them to forfeit a portion of their pay for one month and attend additional safety training. Because the staff sergeant has already been disciplined through this administrative action for the negligent damage, the principle of former punishment would prevent the military from subsequently bringing them before a court-martial for that same act of negligence.

• Example 3: Minor Altercation

  A Navy petty officer gets into a minor verbal altercation with another sailor that escalates slightly but causes no physical harm. Their commanding officer conducts a Captain's Mast (a type of nonjudicial punishment) and issues a formal reprimand and restricts the petty officer to the ship for a week. Having already received this administrative punishment for the specific incident, the Navy would be barred by the rule of former punishment from later initiating a court-martial against the petty officer for that same minor altercation.