Military Personnel Wearing Uniforms in Civilian Court – The Judges Conundrum Page 1
August 13, 2010
Military Personnel Wearing Uniforms in Civilian Court – The Judges Conundrum
Judge Daniel J. Hill
, 6
th
Judicial District
, State of Oregon
QUESTION: Can or should someone in the active duty military or reserves wear their
military uniform to civilian court?
SUMMARY:
Generally speaking, the promulgated military rules provide that for someone authorized
to wear the uniform, that they may not wear the uniform where such may tend to bring
discredit upon the Armed Forces or the uniform. That is a military rule though and outside the
court‖s consideration, and the question boils down to whether there is a statutory right to wear
the uniform, whether that right is current as someone who is on active duty at the time, and
whether wearing the uniform violates ethics rules as an effort to sway the judge or jury, that
being then the effect wearing the uniform will have on the proceeding.
For the Active Component (AC), someone in active duty
essentially has status and a
statutory right to wear the uniform, and then the question really becomes whether that creates a
condition of an effort to sway the judge or jury that violates the ethics rules, and whether that
condition is so persuasive to require the judge to not allow wearing of the uniform in court.
Ordinarily you would allow the AC service member to appear in uniform.
For the Federal Reserve Component
if they are not in a duty status then their right to
wear the uniform is significantly more restricted, and unless they are in a duty status there
would be no statutory right to wear the uniform in court. Similarly, some who has a right to
wear the uniform by being an honorably discharged veteran of war or honorably retired
retiree, while they have a right to wear the uniform, it is not a ―current‖ right based on a AD
status. It would be more discretionary for the judge in either case to allow or not allow the
wear of the uniform.
If someone in the Federal Reserve Component was in a duty status
then they would have the same right as someone in the Active Component.
Judge Hill is an elected Circuit Judge for the 6
th
Judicial District, Umatilla and Morrow Counties, State of
Oregon. Judge Hill is also an Army Judge Advocate with the rank of Colonel in the Oregon Army National
Guard. Colonel Hill was previously an Active Duty Prosecutor (Trial Counsel), and among other assignments a
National Guard Defense Counsel, the Senior Army Judge Advocate – Deputy State Judge Advocate, and now
assigned as the Regional Defense Counsel, Army National Guard Trial Defense Service, Western Region.
This opinion is not the opinion of the Oregon Judicial Department, the Oregon National Guard or the US Army
and is merely an opinion of the author. The opinion was authored as a result of numerous inquiries from the trial
bench about service members wearing the uniform in court.
Someone on Active Duty (AD) is subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) all the time, wherever
they are.
The Federal Reserve Component would consist of Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines who when in duty status
are federal Title 10 service members. The reference Reserve Component (RC) alone, includes them and also
Title 32 National Guard, either Army National Guard (ARNG) or Air National Guard (ANG).
It is highly unlikely that a unit would provide orders for a RC service member to appear in court.
