(A) The Adjutant General shall appoint an officer of the military forces as state judge advocate. To be eligible for appointment, an officer must be a member of the South Carolina Bar and federally recognized as a judge advocate. The state judge advocate shall hold a military grade and rank as designated by the Adjutant General. Absent separate appointment, the senior judge advocate of the National Guard is the state judge advocate.

(B) The Adjutant General shall appoint judge advocates and legal officers who shall serve under the supervision of the state judge advocate.

(C) To be eligible for appointment, judge advocates or legal officers must be members of the South Carolina Bar.

(D) The state judge advocate or his assistants shall make frequent inspections in the field of supervision of the administration of military justice.

(E) Convening authorities at all times shall communicate directly with the state judge advocate or with judge advocates within their command in matters relating to the administration of military justice.

(F) A person who has acted as member, military judge, trial counsel, assistant trial counsel, defense counsel, assistant defense counsel, or investigating officer in a case may not act later as staff judge advocate or legal officer to a reviewing authority upon the same case.

HISTORY: Former Section 25-1-2450 [1950 (46) 1881; 1952 Code Section 44-156; 1962 Code Section 44-155; 1964 (53) 2241] recodified as Section 25-1-2935 by 1984 Act No. 378; New Section 25-1-2450 [derived from former Section 25-1-820 (1962 Code Section 44-65; 1964 (53) 2241; Repealed by 1985 Act No. 38, Section 4)] En by 1984 Act No. 378, Section 7; 2001 Act No. 85, Section 27; 2011 Act No. 46, Section 12, eff June 7, 2011.

Effect of Amendment

The 2011 amendment, redesignated subsections 1 to 5 and the last undesignated paragraph as subsections (A) to (F); in subsection (A), in the first sentence, inserted "and federally recognized as a judge advocate"; in subsection (E), substituted "at all times shall" for "shall at all times"; and in subsection (F), substituted "A person" for "No person", "officer in a case may not act later" for "officer in any case may later act", and "a reviewing" for "any reviewing".