United States Navy JAGC

ABOUT THIS COMPANY

ABOUT THIS COMPANY

The United States Navy had no legal officers until the Civil War, as naval regulations were so straightforward that nobody saw a need for lawyers to interpret them. But as courts-martial during the war became more complicated, the Secretary of the Navy borrowed an assistant U.S. Attorney and appointed him as the Navy's solicitor. He did so on his own authority, but in 1865 Congress made the post of Solicitor and Naval Judge Advocate General an official presidential appointment, albeit on a year-to-year basis. It wasn't until 1878 that the position was granted to a uniformed military officer, Col. William Butler Remey of the United States Marine Corps. Remey convinced Congress the post should always be held by a naval or marine officer chosen from within the ranks.

In 1950 Congress passed legislation creating the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and also required for the first time that the JAGs of any military branch be a lawyer with at least eight years of military service, although the Navy also had "law specialists" who did not necessarily belong to the bar but could perform legal services. Seventeen years later, however, the Judge Advocate General's Corps created a professional role for lawyers within the Navy. Today, more than 730 judge advocates litigate cases that touch upon nearly every aspect of the law at naval facilities worldwide. Staff members are provided with special legal training at the Naval Justice School, based in Newport, R. I.