Question

What is the difference between criminal law and military law?

Answer 1

A civilian has rights. He must be told these rights, be given a lawyer, cannot be taken into custody without probable cause, when he is arrainged he can probably post bail, and supposedly he is innocent until proven guilty.

A soldier is guilty until proven innocent. If a major or above testifies that he saw the soldier do something wrong, that soldier is considered guilty right then and there. If he says the officer is lying, he gets hit with the charge of disrespecting an officer. When arrested, he has no right to silence, or to an attorney not provided by the military.

Answer 2

In the United States, because of the differences between the criminal law of different states, certain civil crimes are specifically made offenses against the military code. All countries have rules to prevent the double jeopardy of an offender being punished for one act by both civil and military jurisdiction.