{"id":907016565,"date":"2026-06-03T21:19:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T21:19:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gapasinlaw.com\/legal-definition-of-court-martial"},"modified":"2026-06-03T21:19:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T21:19:05","slug":"legal-definition-of-court-martial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gapasinlaw.espresso.themodernfirm.com\/?p=907016565","title":{"rendered":"Legal Definition of Court-Martial"},"content":{"rendered":"

Legal Definition of Court-Martial<\/a><\/h1>\n

Posted by Ernesto Gapasin<\/a> | Sep 25, 2015<\/span> | 0 Comments<\/span><\/p>\n

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When assigned an essay or a lab report, many students receive the following instruction from their professor: define your terms. <\/em>The phrase comes from Voltaire, who wrote, \u201cDefine your terms, you will permit me again to say, or we shall never understand one another\u201d (source<\/a>). This worthwhile advice should be used even after you graduate, as knowing the definition of a word will help you better understand its meaning and implications. Accordingly, if you’re in the military, you should probably know the legal definition of court-martial. You never know\u2014it might come in handy someday!<\/p>\n

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Legal Definition of Court-Martial<\/h2>\n

Established in the eighteenth century, the court-martial is a critical component of the U.S. military justice system, which is governed by the Uniform Code of Military Justice<\/a> (UCMJ). If you search for the definition of a court-martial, here are some of the (very similar) descriptions you’ll find:<\/p>\n