U.S. Army
JAG Corps
From Nuremberg to the rules of engagement in Kandahar, the Judge Advocate General's Corps ensures the Army fights within the law. Military lawyers prosecute war crimes, defend the accused, advise commanders on targeting and detention, and write the rules that govern armed conflict. Justice under arms — since 1775.
World War II & Nuremberg
1941 – 1949
NUREMBERG
1945 – 1949
24
Major War Criminals
185
Subsequent Trials
JAG
Prosecutors & Staff
Law
OF WAR PRECEDENT
Army JAG officers served as prosecutors, defense counsel, and legal staff at the Nuremberg Trials — the first time in history that leaders of a nation were held personally accountable for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and waging aggressive war. The legal precedents established at Nuremberg became the foundation of modern international humanitarian law. JAG officers helped create the legal architecture that still governs armed conflict today. Nuremberg proved that "following orders" is not a defense.
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UCMJ
MAY 5, 1950
1950
Enacted
Uniform
Code · All Services
Due
Process Rights
Courts
MARTIAL SYSTEM
Before 1950, each service had its own military justice system with inconsistent standards and limited protections for the accused. The Uniform Code of Military Justice unified military law across all services — establishing due process rights, the military court system, and the framework that governs every court-martial, Article 15, and military legal proceeding today. The UCMJ was the JAG Corps' most lasting contribution to military life. Every service member lives under it.
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Modern JAG Operations
2001 – Present
OPLAW
EVERY OPERATION
ROE
Rules of Engagement
Targeting
Legal Review
Detention
Operations · LOAC
Every
HQ HAS A JAG
In Iraq and Afghanistan, JAG officers sat in every tactical operations center — reviewing targeting decisions in real time, advising commanders on rules of engagement, and ensuring detention operations complied with the law of armed conflict. Every airstrike, every raid, every detainee intake had legal review. Operational law became the JAG Corps' defining mission in the GWOT era — lawyers embedded at every echelon from battalion to CENTCOM, making split-second legal calls in combat.
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JUSTICE
COURTS-MARTIAL
TDS
Trial Defense Service
SVC
Special Victims Counsel
SHARP
Legal Response
Both
SIDES REPRESENTED
The JAG Corps provides both prosecution and defense in military justice. Trial counsel prosecutes. The Trial Defense Service provides independent defense attorneys who answer only to their client, not the command. Special Victims' Counsel represent victims of sexual assault with their own independent attorney. The system is adversarial by design — because justice requires someone fighting on both sides. JAG officers switch between prosecution and defense across assignments, understanding both perspectives.
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TJAGLCS
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA
TJAGLCS
JAG School
C'ville
Charlottesville, VA
LLM
Military Law Degree
All
SERVICES ATTEND
The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School at Charlottesville, Virginia is where military lawyers from all services are trained in the specialized practice of military law — operational law, international law, criminal law, administrative law, and legal assistance. JAG officers arrive as civilian lawyers and leave as military legal professionals. The school also offers an LLM in Military Law — one of the only accredited graduate military law programs in the world.
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249
Years of Service
4,500+
JAG Officers & Paralegals
UCMJ
Military Justice System
Justice
Under Arms