Part A - The Source of Police Authority

PART A - THE SOURCES OF POLICE AUTHORITY

General.

Black's Law Dictionary (5th Ed.) defines the term "authority" (p. 121) as "the

right to exercise power...to implement and enforce laws; to exact obedience." It

defines "jurisdiction" (p. 766) as the "authority by which courts...take cognizance

of and decide cases."

It is the "power and authority of a court to hear and

determine a judicial proceeding...the right and power of a court to adjudicate

concerning the subject matter in a given case."

What we are talking about, is POWER. More specifically, we are going to be looking

at your powers.

When can a military police officer lawfully exercise his

authority? What are the limits? When will the courts have the power to try the

offenders who violate our law?

Sources of authority.

Under our system of government, we cannot do things

just because we want to do them. A police officer cannot testify in court that he

acted in a certain manner simply because he "felt like it."

Such testimony in

court could prove disastrous. It is important, then, to understand the basis (or

sources) for the exercise of one's authority under our system of government. There

are several different sources, in descending order:

a. The U.S. Constitution.

This is, of course, the highest source of

authority under our system of government. Article I, Section 8, empowers Congress

"to make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces."

Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution makes the President the Commander-

in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

The federal courts (ultimately, the U.S. Supreme

Court) interpret the meaning of the U.S. Constitution.

b. Acts of Congress, i.e., the UCMJ.

In furtherance of the power given it

under Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, Congress enacted the Uniform Code

of Military Justice. The UCMJ is an act of Congress, and has the force and effect

of such. Another example of a congressional enactment is the U.S. Code, Title 18,

which sets forth the main body of federal criminal law.

c. The Manual for Courts-Martial.

The President, in his role as Commander-

in-Chief of the Armed Forces, has authority to issue Executive Orders pertaining to

the military, and particularly military justice.

Article 36, UCMJ, gave the

President the power to prescribe by regulation "the procedure, including modes of

proof, in cases before courts-martial."

Similarly, Article 56, UCMJ, gave the

President the power to provide punishments for the various offenses under the UCMJ.

The President exercised his powers derived from Congress and the

U.S.

Constitution, promulgating the Manual for Courts-Martial (MCM).

First enacted in

1951, it was substantially revised in 1969, and again in 1984.

d. Regulation. There are, of course, service wide (DOD regulations), as well

as individual Army regulations, Air Force regulations, Navy regulations,

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