Can a military spouse be charged with adultery and do jail time?
I was told by a police officer (ex military) that it is a federal felony and that a civilian spouse can be arrested and put in jail. I find this a bit extreme since most adultery cases are often dismissed by the commanding officers themselves.
Of couse not. Don't listen to the officer as regards military law.
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Does this police officer also have his license to practice law, too?
The answer is NO! A civilian spouse is NOT subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Only the military member can be punished for adultery. The civilian spouse is free to have sex with whomever he or she chooses. Adultery is not a state crime in California. Furthermore, California is a no fault state for divorce.
However, the military member can be court-martialed for this offense (if the Command prefers charges).
Hope this helps. Best of luck to you.
In order to be prosecuted under the UCMJ, military courts-martial must have what is known as personal jurisdiction. Article 2, UCMJ, and Rule for Court Martial 202 state the persons who are subect to the jurisdiction of courts-martial. These include: active duty personnel; cadets, aviation cadets, and midshipmen; certain retired personnel; members of Reserve components not on active duty under some circumstances; persons in custody of the armed forces serving a sentence imposed by court-martial; and, under some circumstances, specified categories of civilians such as those serving with active duty forces during declared war or contingency operations (Article 2(a)(10), UCMJ 2012 ed.). If you are a civilian, it is highly unlikely that you fall into the final category.
The officer is simply wrong. There is only one hypothetical, improbable, case that I can think of in which a civilian spouse could be charged under the UCMJ: if she/he is a DoD Civilian or Contractor, in theater, during a declared war or contingency operation -- read, Iraq or Afghanistan. But, then it would be the status as a contractor or employee that extends jurisdiction, not the status as the spouse of a service member.
And if that is all that it is, the military is not going to take the time and effort to prosecute an adultery case downrange. After USvAli, and several other cases the military has been somewhat reluctant to prosecute downrange civilians, preferring to remove them from country.
Some states still have adultery as a crime as law.
Under the UCMJ there is NO jurisdiction for the military to prosecute, and certainly none to arrest.
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