Index/Organizations/Military Law Task Force

Military Law Task Force

Fact-Checks

26 results
Nov 21, 2025
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What constitutes an unlawful order under the UCMJ and military law?

The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) presumes orders are lawful but makes clear service members are not required to follow orders that are contrary to the Constitution, U.S. law, or beyond the ...

Nov 22, 2025
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Can a soldier be court-martialed for disobeying a direct order from a superior officer?

A U.S. service member can be court-martialed for disobeying a superior’s order if that order is lawful — Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice criminalizes failure to obey lawful orders a...

Nov 21, 2025
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Can you disobey a direct order from a military officer

The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) requires service members to obey lawful orders but also bars following unlawful or “patently illegal” orders; courts and military lawyers decide lawfulness,...

Dec 2, 2025

What legal tests determine an order is unlawful under the UCMJ?

The UCMJ creates a presumption that orders are lawful and requires obedience, but it also makes service members criminally liable for obeying orders that are unlawful — a narrow, legally fraught excep...

Jan 12, 2026

What legal protections and penalties exist for service members who refuse orders they reasonably believe are unlawful?

U.S. military law draws a clear line: service members are required to obey lawful orders and have a duty to refuse orders that are unlawful, especially those that are "manifestly unlawful" (e.g., orde...

Dec 11, 2025

What case law defines the "manifestly illegal" standard for military orders?

U.S. military law recognizes that service members must refuse “manifestly illegal” orders, but the phrase is not pinned to a single definitive U.S. precedent in the supplied reporting; commentators ci...

Dec 8, 2025

What protections exist under the Uniform Code of Military Justice for service members who disobey or refuse orders?

Service members are legally required to obey lawful orders but the UCMJ recognizes limits: orders that are “manifestly unlawful” provide a defense against charges under Article 90 (willfully disobeyin...

Nov 26, 2025

What legal protections do service members have when refusing or challenging orders?

U.S. military law requires obedience to lawful orders but also imposes a duty to refuse clearly unlawful orders; that duty is rooted in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (Article 92) and the Manual...

Nov 26, 2025

What legal standards define a 'lawful order' in U.S. military law and Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ)?

U.S. military law treats an order as “lawful” if it is within the issuing officer’s authority, serves a valid military purpose, and does not conflict with the U.S. Constitution, statutes, or internati...

Nov 21, 2025

How do service members challenge or refuse an unlawful order without violating the UCMJ?

Service members are legally required to obey lawful orders but also may be required or permitted to refuse orders that are unlawful; Article 92 of the UCMJ criminalizes failure to obey a lawful order,...

Dec 8, 2025

Can a lawful-but-immoral order be lawfully refused under the UCMJ and what precedent guides that?

A service member may refuse an order under the UCMJ only if the order is unlawful — that is, if it directs the commission of a crime, violates the Constitution, federal law, or military regulations — ...

Nov 25, 2025

What constitutes a lawful versus unlawful order under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ)?

The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) requires service members to obey lawful orders and forbids obeying unlawful ones; unlawful orders generally mean clear violations of U.S. or international l...

Nov 21, 2025

What legal tests determine whether a military order is manifestly unlawful?

Military law and international law both draw a sharp line: service members must refuse orders that are “manifestly unlawful” — meaning orders whose criminal or illegal nature is obvious to a reasonabl...

Jan 5, 2026

Which senior officials or offices authored the latest memos instructing refusal of particular unlawful orders and when were they issued?

Reporting does not identify a new, signed senior‑official “refusal” memo from the Pentagon or the White House instructing troops to refuse specific orders; instead the most recent documents and public...

Dec 2, 2025

What evidence and burden of proof are required to justify refusing an order at a court-martial?

Military law requires a servicemember to obey lawful orders and to refuse unlawful ones; the determination whether an order is illegal is ultimately decided by a military judge or tribunal after the f...

Dec 2, 2025

where is the exact verbage on refusing to obey an unlawful order?

The clearest statutory and doctrinal language saying service members must refuse unlawful orders appears in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (as discussed in reporting and legal analyses) and in m...

Nov 30, 2025

What protections or penalties exist for service members who refuse unlawful orders today?

Service members may refuse orders that are “unlawful” — defined as those that violate the Constitution, federal law, military regulations or direct the commission of a crime — but the legal standard f...

Nov 26, 2025

What protections and penalties apply to military personnel who refuse unlawful orders?

Military law and reporting say service members are legally required to obey lawful orders and to refuse patently illegal ones; orders are presumed lawful and the burden to show an order is manifestly ...

Nov 26, 2025

Under the UCMJ, when is following an unlawful order a valid defense versus criminal liability?

Under the UCMJ, service members are criminally required to obey lawful orders and may be punished for failing to do so, but they also have a duty to refuse orders that are unlawful — especially those ...

Nov 25, 2025

What standards determine when a military order is unlawful under the UCMJ versus the Constitution?

U.S. servicemembers are legally obliged to obey lawful orders under the UCMJ, and orders are presumptively lawful — but they also have a duty to refuse orders that are “manifestly unlawful,” a narrow ...