Military Crimes and Defenses Under the UCMJ
Key takeaways
- Every offense reduces to elements the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt — and element analysis is where defense work begins.
- Article 134 sweeps in conduct no enumerated article reaches, but only with its own ‘terminal element’ the government must plead and prove.
- Covered offenses — sexual assault, domestic violence, and others — are now charged by the independent Office of Special Trial Counsel, not the commander.
- Special defenses, once raised by some evidence, must be disproven by the government beyond a reasonable doubt — and the judge must instruct on them sua sponte.
How offenses are organized
The punitive articles — Articles 77 through 134 — carry the military’s crimes, each unpacked in MCM Part IV into elements, explanations, lesser included offenses, maximum punishments, and sample specifications. How military crimes are defined explains that architecture, the general article’s three clauses and terminal element, and the inchoate offenses of attempt, conspiracy, and solicitation. For the elements and punishments of specific offenses — AWOL to murder — see our complete UCMJ articles library.
Sexual offense cases
Article 120 prosecutions dominate modern military justice, and they run on their own rails: OSTC charging control, an Article 32 the complaining witness rarely attends, and an evidence battlefield — M.R.E. 412, 413, 513 — unlike any other case type. How Article 120 cases are prosecuted and defended maps the whole track, with deep dives on consent and mistake of fact and the Office of Special Trial Counsel.
The defenses
Military law recognizes a defined set of special defenses — self-defense, obedience to orders, entrapment, duress and necessity — plus voluntary intoxication’s effect on specific intent and the separate world of mental responsibility and competence. The controlling principle favors the accused: once a defense is reasonably raised by any evidence, the military judge must instruct on it, and the government must disprove it beyond a reasonable doubt. The defenses guide collects them all.
What this means if you’re charged
Read your charge sheet element by element, not headline by headline. Many cases that look unwinnable turn on a single element the government cannot prove — or a defense the investigators never considered. That analysis takes an experienced defense lawyer and it should happen before you make any statement or forum decision.
Guides in this section
Frequently asked questions
What crimes are covered by the UCMJ?
Everything from uniquely military offenses — absence without leave, disobedience, fraternization — through the full range of civilian-style crimes: assault, larceny, drug offenses, sexual assault, homicide. Article 134 additionally reaches conduct prejudicial to good order or service-discrediting that no enumerated article covers.
What is a special defense in military law?
A defense that admits the act but denies criminal responsibility — self-defense, duress, entrapment, obedience to orders, and others listed in R.C.M. 916. Once any evidence reasonably raises one, the judge must instruct on it and the government must disprove it beyond a reasonable doubt.
Who prosecutes sexual assault cases in the military now?
The Office of Special Trial Counsel — independent senior judge advocates outside the chain of command — decides charging and referral for sexual assault, domestic violence, and other covered offenses. Commanders no longer control those decisions.
Where can I find the elements of a specific UCMJ article?
Our UCMJ articles library at ucmjdefense.com/ucmj-article/ covers each punitive article's elements and maximum punishments, and MCM Part IV is the primary source. This section explains how those elements work in a real case — and which defenses answer them.
About the attorneys behind this guide
Michael Waddington, Civilian Military Defense Lawyer
Michael Waddington has spent more than 25 years turning element analysis into acquittals — in Article 120 trials, war crimes cases, online sting prosecutions, and violent-offense courts-martial worldwide. A former Army prosecutor and defense counsel and a published author on cross-examination, he approaches every charge sheet the way this section teaches: element by element, defense by defense.
Alexandra González-Waddington, Founding Partner
Alexandra González-Waddington, founding partner of Gonzalez & Waddington, has defended the substantive cases this section covers for more than 20 years — sexual assault, domestic violence, murder, and the mental-health-inflected cases where R.C.M. 706 boards and competence fights decide outcomes. Bilingual in English and Spanish, she practices worldwide and reviewed this section for accuracy.
Talk to a civilian court-martial defense lawyer today
Gonzalez & Waddington defends Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Guardians, and Coast Guardsmen worldwide — in UCMJ investigations, courts-martial, Article 15/NJP actions, GOMOR rebuttals, administrative separation boards, and Boards of Inquiry. We defend the whole case: the investigation, the trial, the administrative fallout, and the long-term consequences to your rank, retirement, clearance, and discharge.
Sources for this guide include the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the Manual for Courts-Martial (2024 ed.), the Rules for Courts-Martial, the TJAGLCS Criminal Law Deskbook, and the cited decisions of the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces and the service Courts of Criminal Appeals. It is attorney advertising and general legal information — not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship. Every case turns on its own facts. Service procedures vary; Army references (AR 27-10) are noted where used.