10 U.S.C. § 824
Section 824 · Art. 24. Who may convene summary courts-martial
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 12 court decisions — leading case Levy v. Parker (1973)
Most recently applied in United States v. Bartee (March 2017)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) Summary courts-martial may be convened by—
(1) any person who may convene a general or special court-martial;
(2) the commanding officer of a detached company, or other detachment of the Army;
(3) the commanding officer of a detached squadron or other detachment of the Air Force or a corresponding unit of the Space Force; or
(4) the commanding officer or officer in charge of any other command when empowered by the Secretary concerned.
(b) When only one commissioned officer is present with a command or detachment he shall be the summary court-martial of that command or detachment and shall hear and determine all summary court-martial cases brought before him. Summary courts-martial may, however, be convened in any case by superior competent authority when considered desirable by him.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
824(b)
50:588(b).
In subsection (a)(4), the words "Secretary concerned" are substituted for the words "Secretary of a Department".
In subsection (b), the words "only one commissioned" are substituted for the words "but one" for clarity. The word "considered" is substituted for the word "deemed".
Amendments
2021—Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 116–283 inserted "or a corresponding unit of the Space Force" after "Air Force".