The White House, President George W. Bush Click to print this document

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 12, 2002

2002 Amendments to the Manual for Courts-Martial, United States
Executive Order

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code (Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. 801-946), and in order to prescribe amendments to the Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, prescribed by Executive order 12473, as amended, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Thirty days after the date of this Executive Order, the provisions of Federal Rule of Evidence 415, adopted September 13, 1994, will no longer be applicable to the Military Rules of Evidence. This evidentiary rule became applicable to courts-martial on January 6, 1996, pursuant to Military Rule of Evidence 1102.

Sec. 2. The last subparagraph of paragraph 4, of Part I, of the Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, is amended as follows:

"The Manual shall be identified as "Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2002 edition)." Any amendments to the Manual made by Executive Order shall be identified as "2002" Amendments to the Manual for Courts-Martial, United States"; "2002" being the year the Executive Order was signed. If two or more Executive Orders amending the Manual are signed during the same year, then the second and any subsequent Executive Orders will be identified by placing a small case letter of the alphabet after the last digit of the year beginning with "a" for the second Executive Order and continuing in alphabetic order for subsequent Executive Orders.".

Sec. 3. Part II of the Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, is amended as follows:

Sec. 4. Part III of the Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, is amended in Mil. R. Evid. 615 by striking the period at the end of the rule and adding ", or (4) a person authorized by statute to be present at courts-martial, or (5) any victim of an offense from the trial of an accused for that offense because such victim may testify or present any information in relation to the sentence or that offense during the presentencing proceedings.".

Sec. 5. Part IV of the Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, is amended as follows: