ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. –
Most military members are familiar with the term "court-martial," the process by which military members are prosecuted for criminal offenses committed during a period of active duty. Airmen, Soldiers, Marines and Sailors alike follow the same guiding principles and code of conduct delineated in the Uniform Code of Military Justice and are subject to court-martial or other disciplinary action for violating its terms.
What many military members may not realize is that your local base legal office is also prosecuting civilian misconduct. At Andrews, your friendly neighborhood judge advocate general may also be a Special Assistant United States Attorney, sworn-in to prosecute civilians in federal magistrate court.
The SAUSAs are able to prosecute civilians who commit crimes on Andrews since Andrews is considered an exclusive federal jurisdiction. This means that any crimes committed on Andrews by civilians are federal crimes which are then prosecuted in federal court. While this process is not unique to Andrews, not all Air Force installations are federal exclusive jurisdictions as many do not have magistrate court programs.
While civilians are not held to the same high standards of the UCMJ (they cannot be prosecuted for "failure to obey a lawful order," or, "going absent without leave") common offenses that are prosecuted in magistrate court include: drunk driving, possession of controlled and dangerous substances, assault, shoplifting, trespassing, and minor traffic offenses.
So far in 2010, Andrews' SAUSAs have prosecuted more than 700 traffic offenses and 110 misdemeanor offenses, where the maximum punishment is one year confinement. Depending on the facts and circumstances of the crime, first-time offenders can be sentenced to jail, but they are often placed on probation and shackled with additional conditions like community service, counseling, rehabilitation, victim impact panels (where the individual is confronted by persons impacted by drunk driving crimes), fines, letters of apology, and random drug testing.
Repeat offenders are not so lucky; the Honorable Judge Charles B. Day, the federal magistrate judge assigned to Andrews, recently sentenced a repeat shoplifter found guilty of two counts of petty theft to two years in prison.
Even though you may not have known it, civilian criminal conduct committed on Andrews is swiftly and efficiently prosecuted by the base legal office, ensuring the members of Andrews and the property of the U.S. Air Force remain safe and secure.