254Commander’s Preliminary Inquiry(R.C.M. 303)A. DefinedUnder Rule for Court-Martial 303, if a commander receives information that a member of his or her command is accused or suspected of committing an offense or offenses
triable by court-martial, the immediate commander is required to make or cause to be made a preliminary inquiry into the charges or suspected offenses. The preliminary inquiry
is usually informal however, the degree of investigation required depends on the seriousness or complexity of the case.
B. Who may conduct the inquiry?Inquiry into simple or minor offenses maybe a matter of the commander obtaining information from the suspected offender’s chain of command. More complicated cases may require the appointment of an investigating officer. See Chapter 15 for more information on conducting an investigation under Army Regulation 15-6. In complex or serious cases the commander should seek the assistance of law enforcement investigators.
In incidents of sexual assault, the commander must refer the case to the Criminal Investigation Division for investigation. A commander who is a special or general courts-martial convening authority should not personally conduct
the preliminary inquiry, but instead should appoint another officer to do so. This will preserve the quasi-judicial role of the commander and prevent his disqualification as the convening authority.
If there is any doubt as to whether to seek the
assistance of law enforcement, the commander should contact the command’s Judge Advocate.
C. What is the scope of the inquiry?The inquiry should gather all reasonably available evidence on Guilt or innocence Aggravation and Extenuation and Mitigation.
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