2022 (October Term)
Generally
United States v. Harrington, 83 M.J. 408 (in the military justice system, victims of certain sex-related offenses and certain domestic violence offenses not only have limited rights to participate in the proceedings but may also be represented by a special victims’ counsel at government expense; special victims counsel represent the victim’s interests instead of the government’s).
(among the rights granted by Congress to victims of an offense in the military justice system is the right to be reasonably heard at the court-martial sentencing hearing related to that offense; in noncapital cases, the President has authorized a victim (or the victim’s lawful representative or designee) to exercise that right by making a sworn statement, an unsworn statement, or both; if a victim elects to make an unsworn statement, the unsworn statement may be delivered orally, or in writing, or in a combination of both formats; the President has expressly authorized the victim’s counsel to deliver all or part of the victim’s unsworn statement on behalf of the victim for good cause shown).