Section 1 Short title
This act may be cited as the “Equal Justice Under Military Law Act”.
Equal Justice Under Military Law Act
A BILL
To amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice to establish an independent convening authority for certain offenses, randomize jury selection, and improve reporting on racial and ethnic demographics, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Modifications to covered offenses under uniform code of military justice
In general— Section 801(17)(A) of title 10, United States Code (article 1(17)(A) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by section 533 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (Public Law 117–81), is amended—
by inserting “, section 921 (article 121), section 921a (article 121a), section 922 (article 122)” after “(article 120c)”; and
by inserting “, section 926 (article 126), section 928(b) (article 128(b)), section 928(c) (article 128(c))” after “(article 125)”.
Effective date— The amendments made by subsection (a) shall take effect immediately after the coming into effect of the amendments made by section 533 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (Public Law 117–81) as provided in section 539C of that Act.
Sec. 3 Establishment of independent convening authority for certain offenses
General courts-Martial— Section 822 of title 10, United States Code (article 22 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice) is amended—
in subsection (a), by striking “General courts-martial may be convened by” and inserting “Subject to subsection (c), general courts-martial may be convened by”; and
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(c) A general court-martial involving a covered offense may be convened only by the independent convening authority designated by the President pursuant to section 3(d) of the Equal Justice Under Military Law Act.”
Special courts-Martial— Section 823 of title 10, United States Code (article 23 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice) is amended—
in subsection (a), by striking “Special courts-martial may be convened by” and inserting “Subject to subsection (c), special courts-martial may be convened by”; and
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(c) A special court-martial involving a covered offense may be convened only by the independent convening authority designated by the President pursuant to section 3(d) of the Equal Justice Under Military Law Act.”
Effective date— The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) shall take effect immediately after the coming into effect of the amendments made by part 1 of title V of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (Public Law 117–81) as provided in section 539C of that Act.
Designation of independent authority—
In general— Not later than the effective date specified in subsection (c), the President shall designate an independent convening authority who shall have exclusive authority for convening general and special courts-martial involving covered offenses in accordance with sections 822(c) and 823(c) of title 10, United States Code (articles 22(c) and 23(c) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as added by subsection (a). An independent convening authority designated under this subsection shall be an individual who is independent of the military chains of command of both the victims and those accused of covered offenses, and may include a special trial counsel.
Definitions— In this subsection:
The term covered offense has the meaning given that term in section 801(17) of title 10, United States Code (article 1(17) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as added by section 533 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (Public Law 117–81) and further amended by section 2 of this Act.
The term special trial counsel has the meaning given that term in section 801(18) of title 10, United States Code (article 1(18) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as added by section 533 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (Public Law 117–81).
Conforming amendment— Title V of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (Public Law 117–81) is amended by striking section 534.
Sec. 4 Selection process for members to serve on courts-martial
Section 825(e) of title 10, United States Code (article 25(e) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), is amended—
by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) as paragraphs (3), (4), and (5), respectively;
by inserting after the subsection enumerator the following new paragraphs:
“(2) The randomized selection process developed and implemented under paragraph (1) may include parameter controls that—
“(A) allow for exclusions based on availability;
“(B) allow for controls based on military rank; and
“(C) allow for controls based on equitable representation on the basis of race, sex, and ethnicity.”
in paragraph (4), as so redesignated—
by striking the first sentence; and
by striking “when he is” and inserting “when the member is”.
Sec. 5 Modifications to annual reports on racial and ethnic demographics in the military justice system
Section 486 of title 10, United States Code, is amended—
in subsection (b)—
in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting “and other information” after “statistics”;
in paragraph (7), by striking “and” at the end;
in paragraph (8), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
“(9) an estimate, based on survey data from the Armed Forces Workplace and Equal Opportunity Surveys, of the number of offenses committed by members of the armed force, disaggregated by—
“(A) statistical category as related to the victim; and
“(B) statistical category as related to the principal;
“(10) an analysis of any disparities among race, sex, and ethnicity in the incidence, reporting, disposition, and prosecution of offenses by units, commands, and installations during the year covered by the report, including trends relating to—
“(A) the prosecution of offenses; and
“(B) the prevalence of offenses, set forth separately for—
“(i) each installation with 5,000 or more servicemembers;
“(ii) the major career fields of any individuals involved in such incidents, including the fields of combat arms, aviation, logistics, maintenance, administration, and medical; and
“(iii) in the case of the Navy, the operational status (whether sea duty or shore duty) of any individuals involved in such incidents; and
“(11) the policies, procedures, and processes implemented by the Secretary concerned during the year covered by the report in response to any race, sex, or ethnicity disparities involving members of the armed force concerned.”
by inserting after subsection (c) the following new subsection:
“(d) Publication—The Secretary of Defense shall—
“(1) publish on an appropriate publicly available website of the Department of Defense the reports required by subsection (a); and
“(2) ensure that any data included with each such report is made available in a machine-readable format that is downloadable, searchable, and sortable.”