If you are a black military service member, you have a ridiculously higher chance of facing court-martial or nonjudicial punishment (NJP) and then being found guilty at that court-martial or NJP. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, or Air Force—if you are black, the danger of you going to and being found guilty at court-martial or NJP is through the roof compared to whites.
This is not our opinion, it’s based on data that national media networks like Newsweek, USA TODAY, NBC News, and McClatchy have reported on with headlines like:
The Protect Out Defenders Report: Racial Disparities in Military Justice
In this report, Protect Our Defenders, a national organization, concludes:
“The data shows that, for every year reported and across all service branches, black service members were substantially more likely than white service members to face military justice or disciplinary action, and these disparities failed to improve or even increased in recent years.”
“[R]acial disparities are present at every level of military disciplinary and justice proceedings, particularly between black and white service members. The persistence of racial disparities within the military may indicate the existence of racial bias or discrimination among decision-makers in the military justice system.”
More specifically, the report highlights the following horrific reality for black service members:
Army: black service member 61% more likely to face general or special court-martial than a white service member.
Navy: black service member 40% more likely to face general or special court-martial than a white service member.
Marine Corps: black service member 32% more likely to have a guilty finding at a court-martial or NJP than white Marines.
Air Force: black service members 71% more likely to face court-martial or NJP than white airmen.
Unfortunately, there is little, if any, evidence indicating that this disparity has lessened. And it puts active duty military defense counsel in an extremely difficult position. If the data indicates that military justice decisions are being based on race but there is no direct evidence of it in a particular case, how are they to address the issue when they very well may be working for the same convening authority in the near future? It’s hard to imagine that raising the matter would be career enhancing.
The Officer Sending a Service Member to Court Martial Also Selects The Jury Pool
You may not know it, but the officer that sends a service member to a general or special court-martial is also the person that selects the jury pool. With this system in place, is it surprising that black service members are tried, convicted, and more severely punished than white service members? After all, according to a recent DoD demographics report, approximately 5.3 percent of Marine officers, 6 percent of Air Force officers, 7.9 percent of Naval officers, and 12.7 percent of Army officers are black. Thus, the vast majority of military officers are white.
So, if (a) the majority of military officers are white, (b) it is officers that send service members to courts-martial, and (c) the data shows that black service members are tried, convicted and punished more, then (d) who should we look to as the cause for the racial disparity? And could it be that black service members are convicted more because the officers sending them to courts-martial also pick the jury pool, which are often mostly white? And what about if the accused is black but the alleged victim in a sexual assault case, for example, is white?
In the end, if you’re a military service member that believes you’re facing such unfairness, you need the most aggressive and experienced military defense attorney you can find.
Contact Liebenguth Law today for a free consultation and learn how we would investigate, prepare, and defend you case: 888-748-1780.
Resources Cited
Newsweek, Is the Military Racist? Black Troops Punished Far More than White Service Members, Study Finds https://www.newsweek.com/black-troops-study-punishment-622334
USA TODAY, Black Troops as much as twice as likely to be punished by commanders, courts https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/06/07/black-troops-much-twice-likely- punished-commanders-courts/102555630/
NBC News, Black Troops More Likely to Face Military Punishment Than Whites, Report Says https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/black-troops-more-likely-face-military-punishment- whites-new-report-n769411
McClatchy, Black troops far more likely to face military punishment in every service branch https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article154863049.html
Protect Our Defenders, Racial Disparities in Military Justice, Findings of Substantial and Persistent Racial Disparities Within the United States Military Justice System https://www.protectourdefenders.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Report_20.pdf
