Group urges more openness in courts-martial

Group urges more openness in courts-martial
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Aug 15, 2008 12:57:29 EDT

A nonprofit group representing the news media wants Congress to order the military to provide more information to the public about military courts-martial and criminal investigations.

The Reporters Committee on Freedom of the Press says in a report released Aug. 15 that standardized information about the date, time, and location of military trials, including the name of the accused and the charges they face, are not routinely available, making it difficult for the news media to cover judicial hearings and for the public — including other service members and their families — to know the outcome.

“If you are a victim of an assault or some other type of crime, and the military assures you it is going to be taken care of, how could you know they took care of it?” said former media lawyer Lucy Dalglish, the committee’s executive director.

Having open trials attended by the public also is the right of accused service members, she said. “The right to a fair and public trial is a bedrock principle of democracy,” Dalglish said. “Unfortunately, in this regard, members of the armed services have fewer rights than those granted to criminal defendants in civilian courts.”

Such a change could be ordered by military regulation, but the committee, which provides legal advice for reporters, believes the history of battles with the military over trying to obtain details of legal proceedings is reason enough to get Congress involved rather than solely depending on the military to make a policy change that it could later reverse.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/08/military_commondocket_courtsmartial_0815083w/