Title 32
SECTION 720.12
720.12 Request for delivery of members serving sentence of court-martial.
§ 720.12 Request for delivery of members serving sentence of court-martial.(a) General. Article 14, UCMJ (10 U.S.C. 814), provides authority to honor requests for delivery of members serving a sentence of a court-martial. Although seldom utilized, additional authority and mandatory obligation to deliver such members are provided by the Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act (18 U.S.C. app. 9, hereinafter “the Act”), which applies to the Federal agency holding the prisoner. The Department of the Navy, as an agency of the Federal Government, shall comply with the Act. The Act is designed to avoid speedy-trial issues and to aid in rehabilitation efforts by securing a greater degree of certainty about a prisoner's future. The Act provides a way for a prisoner to be tried on charges pending before State courts, either at the request of the State where the charges are pending or the prisoner's request. When refusal of delivery under Article 14, UCMJ, is intended, comply with § 720.9(d).
(b) Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act. Upon request under the Act by either State authorities or the prisoner, the cognizant Navy or Marine Corps staff judge advocate, as appropriate, shall communicate with the appropriate State officials, and monitor and ensure that the cognizant commander acts on all such requests. The Act provides that court-martial sentences continue to run during temporary custody. This section does not cover requests between Federal authorities. The procedure set forth in § 720.12(c) shall be applied in such cases.
(1) State request. State officials may request delivery of prisoners in military custody under section 2, Article IV, of the Act. Where a detainer has been lodged against the prisoner, and the prisoner is serving a sentence (regardless of whether an appeal is in process), delivery is mandatory unless the request is disapproved by the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, Washington, DC, 20537 as the designee of the Attorney General for this purpose. 28 CFR 0.96(n). There has been no further delegation to military authority. The prisoner should be informed that he may request the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, Washington, DC 20537, within 30 days after such request is received, to deny the request. Upon the expiration of such 30-day period or upon the Director of the Bureau of Prisons' denial of the prisoner's request, whichever occurs first, the prisoner shall be delivered to the requesting authority.
(2) Prisoner request. The obligation to grant temporary custody under the Act also applies to prisoners' requests to be delivered to State authority. Section 2, Article III(c) of the Act requires the custodial official to inform the prisoner of the existence of any detainer and of the prisoner's right to request disposition. The prisoner's request is directed to the custodial official who must forward it to the appropriate prosecuting official and court, with a certificate of prisoner status as provided by Article III of the Act.
(c) Article 14, UCMJ. When a request for custody does not invoke the Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act, delivery of custody shall be governed by Article 14, UCMJ, and §§ 720.2 through 720.9. The request shall be honored unless, in the exercise of discretion, there is an overriding reason for retaining the accused in military custody, e.g., additional courts-martial are to be convened or the delivery would severely prejudice the prisoner's appellate rights. Execution of the agreement discussed in § 720.6 is a condition precedent to delivery to State authorities. It is not required before delivery to Federal authorities. See § 720.7. Unlike delivery under the Act, delivery of custody pursuant to Article 14, UCMJ, interrupts execution of the court-martial sentence.