Are the rules for the military tribunals adequate to ensure fair trials for anyone brought before them?
The new rules have gone far to address many of the apprehensions generated by the President s November order. They provide for commissions of three to seven officers, one of who must be a judge advocate. Acquittals are final, while a three-member panel (of which one member must be a judge) will review cases resulting in conviction. The Secretary of Defense will also conduct a review, and in certain cases the findings and sentence must by approved by the President. There are also provisions for seeking review of rulings on key issues during the course of the trial. A presumption of innocence applies and an accused (the commission term for defendant) may only be convicted if 2/3 of the Commission members, after deliberation in closed conference, are convinced of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. A unanimous decision of a seven member panel is required to impose the death penalty. Each accused will have a military defense counsel charged with defending his or her client “zealously within t
