In a military court case, who decides an application to take evidence, and what must happen before that decision is made?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
For this exercise, we read the application to take evidence, the paper showing that the opposing party or their defence counsel was asked for an opinion, and the resulting ruling, since each of these reflects a condition the provision attaches.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading takes the provision as naming the military judge as the decision-maker: both the decision on taking evidence and the rejection of an application to take evidence are settled by the military judge, but only after the opinion of the opposing party or that party's defence counsel has been sought.
Another reading notes what the provision leaves out: it does not set the form of the opinion, the time for giving it, or what applies where the opposing party does not appear, so whether an opinion was in fact sought rests on what the file records.
Your judgment
What in the record would show that the opposing party or counsel had a genuine opportunity to give an opinion before the military judge ruled?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to require a written opinion or to set a time limit for it, or if a court decision explains what counts as hearing the opposing side's opinion.