Manual changes: continued patience required

The text of the March 1, 2018 executive order prescribing the 2018 amendments to the Manual for Courts-Martial and generally implementing the Military Justice Act of 2016 is now available on the White House website. Unfortunately, the website document does not include the detailed provisions found in Annexes 1 and 2, for which readers will have to wait a few days for the Federal Register version. Until then, no one outside the government will know what, if anything, was changed from the proposed version, which can be found on the website of the Joint Service Committee on Military Justice.

The executive order sets January 1, 2019 as the general effective date of the new provisions. One provision takes effect a little earlier:

Sec. 11. The amendments to Article 146 of the UCMJ enacted by section 5521 of the MJA and the new Article 146a enacted by section 5522 of the MJA shall take effect on the day after the report for fiscal year 2017 required by Article 146(c) of the UCMJ (as in effect before the MJA’s amendments) is submitted in accordance with Article 146(c)(1), but in no event later than December 1, 2018. [Emphasis added.]

Section 10 of the executive order seems to suffer from a layout issue. In the version on the website it appears as follows:

Sec. 10. Except as provided by Rule for Courts-Martial 902A, as promulgated by Annex 2, any change to sentencing procedures:

(a) made by Articles 16(c)(2), 19(b), 25(d)(2) and (3), 39(a)(4), 53, 53a, or 56(c) of the UCMJ, as enacted by sections 5161, 5163, 5182, 5222, 5236, 5237, and 5301 of the MJA; or

(b) included in Annex 2 in rules implementing those articles, applies only to cases in which all specifications allege offenses committed on or after January 1, 2019.

Seemingly the last clause applies to both paragraphs (a) and (b). The provision thus should have been set out as follows:

Sec. 10. Except as provided by Rule for Courts-Martial 902A, as promulgated by Annex 2, any change to sentencing procedures: 

(a) made by Articles 16(c)(2), 19(b), 25(d)(2) and (3), 39(a)(4), 53, 53a, or 56(c) of the UCMJ, as enacted by sections 5161, 5163, 5182, 5222, 5236, 5237, and 5301 of  the MJA; or

(b) included in Annex 2 in rules implementing those articles, 

applies only to cases in which all specifications allege offenses committed on or after January 1, 2019.