And why IN THE COURTROOM? None of this makes sense.
For ordering a "code red"? Ordering a "code red," is not against the law. It is discouraged but not against the law.
At worst, he perjured himself. But would that be cause for arrest right there, with armed guards??? No. Not the way it's done.
Any thoughts?
Experts out there?
I'm not sure about military law but perjury in a civilian court can be interpreted as contempt of court amongst other things. While it's within his/her discretion it's very unusual that a Judge would order the arrest of a witness for simply telling a pork pie, he'd be more inclined to instruct the Jury to disregard any testimony. However if he considered the perjury to be part of a larger conspiracy at that time unknown it would be prudent to detain the witness.
In this case Jessop indicated that he was instrumental in events that lead to the death of a Marine under his command, events which had been allowed to be interpreted by the court as wanton assault by the defendants of their own volition. The Judge couldn't just let him walk out of the court and pull a Markinson style disappearing act.
24/04/1916
Thank you for your response.
But my question is, what, precisely, is he being arrested for, I mean, what is the charge against him? Remember, he had his rights read to him! Seems all too much to me. Nothing has been proven, or even discussed regarding Jessop's complicity in anything. All he said was, "You're damned right I did!" (give the order for a code red.
If a greater conspiracy is suspected the judge should have advised him "not to leave town," as they say, or, I would imagine, inform Jessup of the possibilities and let due process ensue. Which....what would THAT look like???
Thanks!
Another thing just occurred to me --
Did Jessop specifically deny ordering the code red under oath in court? Not sure we ever got there.
To me, the real worm in all this is Kiefer Sutherland's character, who went to Dawson ALONE and gave him the order. That's low, and conspiratorial.
That's low, and conspiratorialThat might well be your answer. Jessop in essence admits on the stand to being party to a conspiracy that lead to a death that at that point in the trial is being considered as murder. Conspiracy to commit murder!
Perhaps!
However, would that allow the judge to arrest him on the spot. A conspiracy MAY be implied here, it may LOOK like it, but that's all. He admits to giving an order that may or may NOT be considered part of a conspiracy. No one knows at this point, at least.
I would think that the actual arrest would require at least some paperwork.
He couldn't handle the truth either
shareThis movie came out when I was kinda young and I never quite understood the whole story. Now this is also what I'm wondering. Perhaps he was arrested for perjury. But I just wonder what authority a judge has to order him to be arrested on the spot? Shouldn't this be up to the police on whether to arrest and the DA on whether to prosecute? Eh, I dunno but I'm not gonna bother re-watching this movie to find out lol.
shareDidn't Jessup attempt to leave the courtroom? I thought that's why the judge ordered he be arrested right then for contempt of court.
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May all be true, but unconvincing to an audience who has not served in the military.
share1. The Colonel is the top dog. He ordered the Code Red. He is ultimately responsible for the marine's death.
2. And he conspired with other officers at his base to cover up the crime.
3. And he lied under oath.
4. And --- he was willing to let those two soldiers take responsibility for his crime.
You don't see the gravity there? Those were serious crimes. He proved himself to be a danger to his soldiers and the United States military. Why should the judge wait?
Especially since the Tom Cruise character asked that he be arrested on the spot. And the judge and prosecutor agreed. Why wait?
1. The Kernel is the top dog.
Okay, thank you CGSailor.
I went back and changed it.
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Hey look.. I got a stalker troll.
I joined the Navy to see the world, only to discover the world is 2/3 water!
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Code Reds are forbidden. Essentially they are assault and wrongful imprisonment.
The marines did commit burglary in support of this on orders of Jessup and caused the death of Santiago. That´s murder in the fourth degree according to military law (life sentence or death).
To cover this up by framing the two marines and continue with the practice, he committed obstruction of justice (lying to authorities and intimidation of a witness (the doctor)), perjury and manipulation of public documents (the logs and the transfer order of Santiago).
Finally he is also guilty of conspiracy, because he did all this with Kendrick.
All this is more than enough reason to arrest Jessup on the spot and put him on trial for his crimes, for which he will probably have a life sentence.
And he deserves it, too.
Nice explanation. Thank you.
One question: if an act is "forbidden," in a branch of the armed forces, does that make it automatically an arrest-able offense?
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It is certainly a "big deal," and he should have been arrested, I just wondered about the timing. But since, as you say, the commanding authority has the discretion to arrest on the spot, then, hey, it makes sense. I would have liked it to have played out more clearly.
Thanks.
Most of these explanations are good, but in the simplest terms, a code red is illegal. Since Jessup admitted ordering the code red, he admitted to violating the law. And as many have pointed out, his admission therefore held him criminally accountable for all of the other acts surrounding the order (conspiracy, perjury etc.) and ultimately for the young Marine's death. Remember, the major plot point in the second half of the film was the rest of the legal team pointing out to Kaffee the consequences of accusing a colonel of illegal activity if it could not be proven. Since code reds are an "unspoken" act, everything was presumption and hearsay, so it was necessary to get Jessup to admit it. Kaffee knew he could use Jessup's arrogance and old-school beliefs to get the truth out of him.
Ladies and gentlemen...Mr.Conway Twitty
List of possible charges against Jessup:
1) UCMJ Article 92: Failure to Obey (a warning memo from the Fleet Commander to not condone Code Reds is not a suggestion, it is in fact an "order" that Jessup blatantly ignored).
2) UCMJ Article 81: Conspiracy (with Kendrick and Markinson to cover up the truth)
3) UCMJ Article 106: False Official Statement (doctored log books, fake transfer order)
4) UCMJ Article 931: Perjury (claiming under oath that Santiago would be transferred)
5) UCMJ Article 134: Obstructing Justice (basically framing Dawson and Downey for murder)
6) UCMJ Article 133: Conduct Unbecoming an Officer and a Gentleman (encouraging "code red" assaults as legitimate training)
This artist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMPvcgejKpw