10 U.S.C. § 848

Art. 48. Contempt

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(a)Authority To Punish.—(1) With respect to any proceeding under this chapter, a judicial officer specified in paragraph (2) may punish for contempt any person who—(A) uses any menacing word, sign, or gesture in the presence of the judicial officer during the proceeding;(B) disturbs the proceeding by any riot or disorder; or(C) willfully disobeys a lawful writ, process, order, rule, decree, or command issued with respect to the proceeding.(2) A judicial officer referred to in paragraph (1) is any of the following:(A) Any judge of the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces and any judge of a Court of Criminal Appeals under section 866 of this title (article 66).(B) Any military judge detailed to a court-martial, a provost court, a military commission, or any other proceeding under this chapter.(C) Any military magistrate designated to preside under section 819 of this title (article 19).(D) The president of a court of inquiry.(b)Punishment.—The punishment for contempt under subsection (a) may not exceed confinement for 30 days, a fine of $1,000, or both.(c)Review.—A punishment under this section—(1) if imposed by a military judge or military magistrate, may be reviewed by the Court of Criminal Appeals in accordance with the uniform rules of procedure for the Courts of Criminal Appeals under section 866(h) of this title (article 66(h));(2) if imposed by a judge of the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces or a judge of a Court of Criminal Appeals, shall constitute a judgment of the court, subject to review under the applicable provisions of section 867 or 867a of this title (article 67 or 67a); and(3) if imposed by a court of inquiry, shall be subject to review by the convening authority in accordance with rules prescribed by the President.(d)Inapplicability to Military Commissions Under Chapter 47A.—This section does not apply to a military commission established under chapter 47A of this title.(Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 53; Pub. L. 109–366, § 4(a)(2), Oct. 17, 2006, 120 Stat. 2631; Pub. L. 111–383, div. A, title V, § 542(a), Jan. 7, 2011, 124 Stat. 4218; Pub. L. 114–328, div. E, title LVII, § 5230, Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2913; Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title X, § 1081(c)(1)(F), Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1598.)

Historical and Revision Notes
Revised section	Source (U.S. Code)	Source (Statutes at Large)
848	50:623.	May 5, 1950, ch. 169, § 1 (Art. 48), 64 Stat. 123.

The word “may” is substituted for the word “shall”.

Editorial NotesAmendments

2017—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 115–91 substituted “section 866(h) of this title (article 66(h))” for “section 866(g) of this title (article 66(g))”.

2016—Pub. L. 114–328, § 5230(c), amended section catchline generally, substituting “Contempt” for “Contempts”.

Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 114–328, § 5230(a), amended subsec. (a) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “A judge detailed to a court-martial, a court of inquiry, the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, a military Court of Criminal Appeals, a provost court, or a military commission may punish for contempt any person who—

“(1) uses any menacing word, sign, or gesture in the presence of the judge during the proceedings of the court-martial, court, or military commission;

“(2) disturbs the proceedings of the court-martial, court, or military commission by any riot or disorder; or

“(3) willfully disobeys the lawful writ, process, order, rule, decree, or command of the court-martial, court, or military commission.”

Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 114–328, § 5230(b), added subsec. (c) and redesignated former subsec. (c) as (d).

2011—Pub. L. 111–383 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “A court-martial, provost court, or military commission may punish for contempt any person who uses any menacing word, sign, or gesture in its presence, or who disturbs its proceedings by any riot or disorder. The punishment may not exceed confinement for 30 days or a fine of $100, or both. This section does not apply to a military commission established under chapter 47A of this title.”

2006—Pub. L. 109–366 inserted last sentence.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date of 2017 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 115–91 effective immediately after the amendments made by div. E (§§ 5001–5542) of Pub. L. 114–328 take effect as provided for in section 5542 of that Act (10 U.S.C. 801 note), see section 1081(c)(4) of Pub. L. 115–91, set out as a note under section 801 of this title.

Effective Date of 2016 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 114–328 effective on Jan. 1, 2019, as designated by the President, with implementing regulations and provisions relating to applicability to various situations, see section 5542 of Pub. L. 114–328 and Ex. Ord. No. 13825, set out as notes under section 801 of this title.

Effective Date of 2011 Amendment

Pub. L. 111–383, div. A, title V, § 542(b), Jan. 7, 2011, 124 Stat. 4218, provided that: “Section 848 of title 10, United States Code (article 48 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), as amended by subsection (a), shall apply with respect to acts of contempt committed after the date of the enactment of this Act [Jan. 7, 2011].”

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 26 cases, 1980–2020 · leading case: United States v. Sauk

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United States v. Sauk (2015) afcca “We believe that both options are available to us under our broad authority to do justice under Article 66(c), UCMJ, and our contempt authority under Article 48, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 848 . However, on the eve of oral argument, the Government belatedly provided declarations…”

In Re Homer G. Walters and Evolene Walters, Debtors. Charles L. Burd v. Homer G. Walters and Evolene Walters (1989) ca4 “10 U.S.C. § 848 . These two statutory grants of contempt power stand uncontested so far as we are advised.”

In the Matter of Hipp, Inc., Debtor. Thomas J. Griffith, Trustee v. David Oles (1990) ca5 “For example, 10 U.S.C. § 848 explicitly grants military courts-martial the power to punish for contempt for certain acts committed in their presence and within a set penalty.”

United States v. Bowser (2014) afcca “" Article 48(a)(3), UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 848 (a)(3). 8 . "Interview notes prepared by a lawyer or his representative are not automatically excluded from discovery by the defense on the basis that the notes are work product.”

United States Navy-Marine Corps Court of Military Review v. Carlucci (1988) cma “As to the contempt power, we are aware that, although under Article 48 of the Uniform Code, 10 U.S.C. § 848 , courts-martial have an express power to punish for con-tempts committed in their presence, Congress has not explicitly granted such power either to this Court or to…”

United States v. Scaff (1989) cma “Although such conduct is not punishable as a contempt under Article 48, UCMJ, 10 USC § 848 , we are convinced that a military judge is not helpless under such circumstances and that a convening authority may not flout the judge’s authority with impunity.”

United States v. Gilbreath (2014) armfor “, Article 48(a), UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 848 (a) (2012) (military judges’ authority to punish “any person” for contempt of court); Article 106, UCMJ, 10 U.”

United States v. Roth (1999) armfor · cites it 2× “48, UCMJ, 10 USC § 848 . Second, the court may allow opposing counsel to cross-examine the witness as to the nature of the violation; and third, where counsel or the witness violates the rule intentionally, the court may strike testimony already given or disallow further…”

United States v. Burnett (1988) cma · cites it 2× “II Article 48 of the Uniform Code, 10 U.S.C. § 848 , provides: A court-martial, provost court, or military commission may punish for contempt any person who uses any menacing word, sign, or gesture in its presence, or who disturbs its proceedings by any *104 riot or disorder.”

United States v. Gardinier (2006) acca “804(a)(2), the military judge must fulfill the requirement of ordering her to produce the child prior to making that determination.”

United States v. Owen (1987) cma “Article 48, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 848 , provides for contempt powers, but they are limited to misdeeds such as menacing words, signs or gestures, or disturbance of the proceedings.”

United States v. Ferdinand (1989) cma “A military judge is hardly exercising his contempt powers under Article 48, UCMJ, 10 USC § 848 , when he finds that any efforts to compel a mother to produce a child to testify would be “futile” simply because she threatens to disobey his order before it is even issued.”

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