Legal Question in Military Law in California

I was questioned by three separate people in my unit about an incident and after all questioning was complete I was read my rights. Is this the right process? Can any information they obtained before my rights were read to me, be used against me?


Asked on 12/13/11, 9:42 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
William J. Holmes Attorney at Military Law

If these three people suspected that you might have committed a criminal offense, they were required to read your rights to you prior to questioning you. If that is the case, anything you said should not be able to be used against you in a court-martial. This is a general statement of the law, but there are many exceptions to this. Thus, each case is fact-specific and has to be litigated separately.

This general rule only applies to a criminal trial at a court-martial. It would not apply to any administrative actions which your command may try to take such as seeking a separation, awarding nonjudicial punishment, revoking security clearance, relief from duties, etc.

I hope this answers your questions. If you need additional information, please feel free to contact me directly at [email protected] or (757) 420-9321.

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Answered on 12/14/11, 11:59 am


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