10-1-411. Administration of military justice. (1) When a court-martial is convened, the senior judge advocate of that element shall assign trial counsel and defense counsel for the court-martial.
     (2) A military judge appointed pursuant to 10-1-104 and the manual for courts-martial must be appointed by the adjutant general. The military judge must be an attorney licensed to practice law in the state of Montana and a member of the Montana national guard senior in rank to the accused, but may not be the state judge advocate of the Montana national guard. The adjutant general may prescribe additional requirements for a military judge.
     (3) Following approval of the findings and sentence of a court-martial by the court-martial convening authority, the findings and sentence or either the findings or sentence may be appealed to the adjutant general of the Montana national guard in a manner directed by the adjutant general. The adjutant general may reverse a decision of the convening authority only if the findings of fact are clearly erroneous, a fraud upon the court has occurred, the law has been incorrectly applied, or the sentence is an abuse of discretion. Because courts-martial are military courts of the military justice system adopted under 10-1-104 and because the federal military appellate courts do not have jurisdiction over national guard members not in active federal service, no appeal to other courts is allowed.

     History: En. Sec. 2, Ch. 120, L. 1995.