Posted by "Mike N." this morning at CAAFlog: UCMJ Amendment and the Parker v. Levy Rationale

(NOTE TO READERS: INTEGRATED LINKS ARE INCLUDED BY THE JAG HUNTER)

Just a thought for discussion, does the new UCMJ amendment making civilian prosecutions permissible during all contingency operations undermine the Supreme Court's rationale in PARKER v. LEVY for a different standard for accused's rights ? If you take a look at a list of contingency operations since the Vietnam War (available on the Air Force SOC website http://www2.afsoc.af.mil/library/afsocheritage/), it makes you wonder. Under the new amendment a civilian working with the military could have been prosecuted for offenses committed during operations to recover the body of Sec. of Commerce Ron Brown or aiding Bangladeshis during typhon relief. These operations are operations that may have been carried out by non-military relief agencies under different circumstances. However, the President at the time chose to employ the military because of its capabilities. Does the Supreme Court's calculus change with these possibilities?

Contingency Operations of the United States since Vietnam
*Indicates Special Operations Involvement

*1975......................S.S. Mayaguez and Kong Tang Island
*1975......................Evacuation of Cambodia, Operation EAGLE PULL
*1975......................Evacuation of South Vietnam, Operation FREQUENT WIND
1976........................Lebanon
1978........................Zaire Airlift
*1980......................Iranian Hostage Rescue, Operation EAGLE CLAW
*1981......................Army General Dozier kidnapping in Italy
*1983......................Grenada Island (Caribbean) Hostage Rescue, Operation URGENT FURY
*1983......................Honduras (Central America), Operation BIG PINE
*1983-90 ................El Salvador (Central America), Operation BILD KIRK and others
*1984......................El Salvador, President Duarte’s daughter kidnapping
*1985......................TWA Flight 847
*1985......................Achille Lauro, ship highjacking in the Mediterranean Sea
*1986......................Libya (Africa) bombing, Operation EL DORADO CANYON
*1986......................Bombing of Pan Am Flight 73 over Scotland
*1987-88 ................Persian Gulf, Earnest Will, Prime Chance I
*1988......................Honduras, Operation GOLDEN PHEASANT
*1989......................Afghanistan (Middle East), Operation SAFE PASSAGE
*1989......................El Salvador, Operation POPULAR TREE
*1989......................Philippines Coup attempt against President Aquino
*1989......................Panama (Central America), Operation JUST CAUSE
*1990......................Panama, Operation PROMOTE LIBERTY
*1990......................Liberia (Africa) U.S. Embassy evacuation
*1990-91 ................Saudi Arabia/Kuwait/Iraq, Operation DESERT SHIELD/STORM
*1991......................Somalia (Africa), Operation EASTERN EXIT
*1991-Present ........Turkey/Iraq, Operation PROVIDE COMFORT , II, III, Northern Watch
*1991......................Bangladesh (Southeast Asia), typhoon, Operation SEA ANGEL
*1991......................Saudi Arabia, Operation DESERT CALM
*1991-Present ........Kuwait, Operation SOUTHERN WATCH
*1992-1994 ............Italy/Yugoslavia, Operation PROVIDE PROMISE
*1992......................Somalia, Operation RESTORE HOPE
*1993......................Somalia, Operation CONTINUE HOPE I-II
*1993......................Yugoslavia, Operation DENY FLIGHT
*1994......................Haiti (Caribbean), Operations RESTORE DEMOCRACY & UPHOLD DEMOCRACY
*1994......................Rwanda (Africa), Operation SUPPORT HOPE
*1995......................Somalia, Operation UNITED SHIELD
*1995......................Italy/Yugoslavia/Bosnia, Operation DELIBERATE FORCE
*1995......................Followed DELIBERATE FORCE, became Operation JOINT ENDEAVOR for one year
*1996......................Dubrovnik, Croatia, search and rescue support for Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown T-43 crash
*1996......................Embassy evacuation, Liberia (Africa), Operation ASSURED RESPONSE
*1997......................Embassy evacuation, Albania (Europe), Operation SILVER WAKE
*1997......................Civilian evacuation, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo (Africa)
*1999......................Operation ALLIED FORCE (Serbia/Kosovo)
*2000......................Operation ATLAS RESPONSE, Mozambique flood relief
*2001-Present ........Operation ENDURING FREEDOM/GWOT
*2003-Present ........Operation IRAQI FREEDOM