Model State Code of Military Justice.

In 2003, Congress directed the Secretary of Defense to produce a Model State Code of Military Justice. This Code is intended to be adopted by all of the states for use when dealing with misconduct by personnel in Title 32 status. The idea is to try and have a “uniform” state code rather than 50+ differing codes (Guam and Puerto Rico provide National Guard units).

Jurisdiction over members of the National Guard generally rests with either the federal government or the state to which their National Guard unit belongs. When National Guard members are in a federal status (commonly referred to as a “Title 10” status), court-martial jurisdiction over them rests with the federal government, and soldiers and airmen who commit offenses while in this status are subject to the UCMJ. When National Guard soldiers are in a state status (commonly referred to as a “Title 32” status), court-martial jurisdiction rests with the state. Soldiers and airmen who commit offenses while in a state status are not subject to the UCMJ, but are subject to state laws governing their respective National Guard units. Generally, when the federal government calls National Guard members to active duty, they are in federal service. National Guard members are generally in a state status during their typical weekend drills, and the soldiers and airmen would thus not be subject to the UCMJ during these drills.

Major Tyler J. Harder, ARTICLE: Military Justice Symposium – Volume I: Recent Developments in Jurisdiction: Is This the Dawn of the Year of Jurisdiction? 2001 Army Law. 2 (April 2001).

Here is the MODEL STATE CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE, prepared by the National Guard Bureau-JA Military Justice Working Group, as of 8 March 2009. And here is a power point presentation for background.