21 December 2010  Article 13 and PFC Bradley Manning
Military courts have consistently asserted Article 13 protection
broadly to protect servicemembers awaiting trial. Illegal
pretrial punishment can take many forms. The most common
examples are unreasonable or harassing restraint that creates an
appearance that the servicemember is guilty and onerous pretrial
confinement conditions. Article 13 provides that pretrial
confinement should not be “more rigorous than the circumstances
require to insure” the servicemember’s presence at court.
“Conditions that are sufficiently egregious may give rise to a
permissive inference that an accused is being punished. . . .”
United States v. King, 61 M.J. 225, 227-28 (C.A.A.F. 2005); see
also United States v. Crawford, 62 M.J. 411 (C.A.A.F. 2006).
Arbitrary or purposeless conditions also can be considered to
raise an inference of punishment. King, 61 M.J. at 227-28
(citing United States v. James, 28 M.J. 214, 216 (C.M.A. 1989)).
A defense motion for Article 13 credit