nited States Marine Corps Judge Advocate

Division
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The United States Marine Corps' Judge Advocate Division serves both to advise
the Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) and other officials in Headquarters,
Marine Corps on legal matters, and to oversee the Marine Corps legal community. The
head of the Judge Advocate Division (JAD) is the Staff Judge Advocate to the
Commandant (SJA to CMC).
Judge Advocates (JAs) in the Marine Corps work under the supervision of the SJA to
the CMC to advise Marine commanders regarding legal issues including the laws of
war, and handling of criminal cases under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).
Marine Corps lawyers are line officers, unlike their counterparts in the United States
Navy and Army, which means they can fill any officer billet in the Fleet Marine Force.

Contents

 1Organization
 2Staff Judge Advocates to the Commandant
 3Marine Corps Judge Advocates
o 3.1Prerequisites
o 3.2Career Progression
o 3.3Further Education
 4See also
 5References
 6External links

Organization[edit]
The SJA to CMC has three deputies. One serves as Deputy SJA and Deputy Director of
JAD for HQMC Legal Support. Another serves as Deputy Director of JAD for Military
Justice and Community Development. The third serves as Deputy Director of JAD for
Reserve Legal Support. JAD is divided into seven branches that fall under two of the
three deputies:

 Deputy SJA and Deputy Director, JAD, HQMC Legal Support

o JAA – Administrative Support: manages the internal administrative
requirements of JAD
o JCA – Civil and Administrative Law: legal review and guidance on civil and
most administrative law matters, including professional responsibility
o JPL – Military Personnel Law: full range of military personnel law matters
 o JAO – International and Operational Law: full range of international and
operational law matters
 Deputy Director, JAD, Military Justice and Community Development
o JMJ – Military Law: advice on military justice policy and legislation, and
advising and assisting trial counsel in the field
o JCD – Community Development, Strategy, and Plans: long-term strategic
planning, writing and managing legal community doctrine, strategic
communications, coordination of judge advocate manpower requirements and
assignments, and overall coordination of IT support for legal community
o JLA – Legal Assistance: administers Marine Corps legal assistance
program under 10 U.S.C. § 1044
 Deputy Director, JAD, Reserve Legal Support – oversees the provision of
Reserve legal support to the Marine Corps and heads the JAD Individual
Mobilization Augmentee (IMA) Detachment
The SJA to CMC also exercises functional supervision over two independent legal
organizations within the Marine Corps:

 DSO – Defense Services Organization: headed by the Chief Defense Counsel of

the Marine Corps, the DSO provides defense counsel services to Marines worldwide
 VLCO – Victims' Legal Counsel Organization: headed by the Officer in Charge,
the VLCO provides certain legal services to eligible victims of crime

Staff Judge Advocates to the Commandant[edit]

The list of SJAs to the CMC includes:

 Colonel Charles B. Sevier; 1966–1968

 Colonel Marion G. Truesdale; 1968–1969