2007 Amendments to the Manual for Courts-Martial, United States
Headline: Revises military justice rules to allow remote testimony and create new crimes
What it does: Military departments must implement these Manual for Courts-Martial amendments, authorizing remote testimony, defining procedures, and adding new offenses for unborn children and stalking.
- Permits witnesses, including children, to testify remotely in military hearings.
- Creates offenses for injuring or killing unborn children under military law.
- Establishes stalking as a punishable crime with discharge and up to 3 years confinement.
Summary
This order changes the Manual for Courts-Martial to let judges and witnesses use audiovisual and other remote technology in certain pretrial sessions, sets rules for how remote testimony works, and updates procedural definitions.
It also adds new crimes to military law, including offenses for injuring or killing an unborn child and a stalking offense, and clarifies alcohol limits for vehicle operation; these changes affect service members and military court participants and take effect in 30 days.
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