How did the Court prosecute Col. Jessup in A Few Good Men

I was an officer in the U.S Army.

There are oaths that are sworn when you are commissioned. In my opinion, Col. Jessup would have been charged with several offenses under the UCMJ (Unified Code of Military Justice). Issuing an illegal order would have been one, but more importantly and more severe would have been several counts of perjury, as well as interfering with a governmental investigation and conduct unbecoming of a Marine.

Committing perjury on the stand is probably why he was immediately detained by the trial judge in lieu of returning to his post while under investigation. Whether or not he would have seen any jail-time would probably have hinged on the amount of publicity the case would have received. But without a doubt, his military career would be over as well as any future political aspirations he may have entertained.

I would imagine that at the least, he would have been reduced in rank and forced to retire. But this was a fictional story. A very good one I might add.

One last note, after the problems began with Cuba in the early 1960's, anything that happened at Gitmo were classified at the highest levels. Any incidents like the one portrayed in the film would been notoriously hidden from public. It was not until 9/11 and the war in Iraq, that the American people became familiar with the operations at Gitmo.

I may be misremembering the ending of the movie, but I'm pretty sure that there is no reference at all to Jessup being prosecuted. He is arrested by military police, as a confession like that would be grounds for an arrest. But the movie does not portray any sort of prosecution of Jessup.

And, as viewers, we could make the assumption that he will be prosecuted in court, but that doesn't mean it would go well and certainly doesn't mean he would be convicted or punished. In fact, you could likely make the argument, based on what is presented in the movie, that Jessup, if he were to be prosecuted, might be found not guilty (or might plea bargain down to a lesser charge ... plea bargaining is a big plot device in the movie, after all).

So in other words, I think that the answer to your question is that, given what the movie tells us, we can't say anything at all about a theoretical Jessup prosecution; it is quite possible that there is not enough evidence to eventually prosecute or convict him (although I wouldn't call it a plot hole, but just a "hey this movie is ending" issue).

Here's an interesting message board thread where people debate this issue more, coming to pretty much the same conclusion (that Jessup will likely be tried, but very possibly not convicted):

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=556867

Also, the two marines were not completely acquitted; they were both found guilty of conduct unbecoming and were dishonorably discharged.

As far as the two lower enlisted "only following" orders, as a service member, you are supposed to follow "lawful" orders. If a General ordered you to go out and murder 6 children, if you don't follow the order, you of course would not get in trouble, however if you did, you would go to prison. Now, that being said, it is is established in the film, that the Code Red is a form of punishment that is commonplace for that particular unit. With that in mind, you can't expect two lower enlisted soldiers to understand if that in fact is a lawful order or not.

I worked in the Army Jag Corps for years, it is rare to see a "Dishonorable Discharge", that is usually saved for murderers and rapist and such. Since it was proven that there was no intent to harm Pvt Santiago, only to train, I doubt they would have received that discharge classification. Also, they went on trial for murder, so any defense attorney worth his salt could easily get a retrail based on the new evidence and prove they were following orders they believed beyond a shadow of a doubt were infact "lawful" orders and keep their careers. After all, Santiago's death was a freak accident, not intentional.

What got me is how Jessup got arrested. What would normally take place is with the new evidence, an investigation would take place and if the evidence would charges being pressed, he would then possibly be arrested, but he would surely get released until the trail

One more thing, Lt Kendrick is done, we will be prosecuted for perjury and he will get discharged. Probably no jail time, but his career is over.

I served in the Army during the late 60's when corporal punishment was no longer allowed. Marines in the movie were driving a Humvee so the UCMJ prohibition on corporal punishment was definitely in effect. Code Red is corporal punishment. Looks to me that Jessup and Kendrick committed perjury covering up their illegal orders to commit corporal punishment which resulted in death (manslaughter or murder in 3rd degree. They effectively put the rag in Santiago's mouth. Both officers should have gone to Leavenworth. A most entertaining movie.

Reality is it wouldn't have gone further due to his imminent promotion to NSC... Which would now of course disappear. He wouldn't be discharged but likely demoted and given a "bad" assignment where he could be kept an eye on. Where it would get murky is if his mental state came into question, as he did seem yo be somewhat of a psychopath and his behaviour in the court room bore that out.

Kaffer wouldnt be looking over his shoulder however as I'm pretty sure Jessup would commit suicide soon after his disgrace... He wouldn't be able to face being demoted and losing face and his career to that kid.

That a Marine officer will not & cannot ignore his superiors orders under any circumstances.

Although Jessup brings up fair points during his rant (but he is criminally misguided, as the movie explores), his statement about the necessity of following orders blindly is the first indication of how he has become misguided.

He's not wrong that failing to follow orders can lead to deaths that could've been avoided.
However, Jessup makes a mistake by thinking that this is the same as arguing that order must always be followed without question.

Overall, Jessup's reasoning has grains of truth in them, but he has resorted to blanket statements that, while often correct in the right context, do no apply as a global rule. But he enforces these as a global rule because he has become indifferent to the consequences of his wilfully overstated blanket conclusions.

Jessup's argument about the necessity of following orders has many applications that are benevolent: making sure the Marines do not hesitate during combat, or get paralyzed by fear when faced with possible death.
However, he sticks to that rule to a fault. He argues that every command must be followed, without regarding the morality or legality of the command.

And that is where his reasoning goes off the rails. Going by his statements; he is arguing that when a Marine is instructed to do something morally reprehensible with no good justification (e.g. raping a woman or shooting a child), that the order still needs to be followed by merit of it being an order from a superior officer.

Jessup puts the chain of command before both legal and moral consequences, and that is why he is considered evil. Not because he intends to do harm or break the law, but because he is recklessly indifferent to the consequences of the power that he wields.

If his behavior is considered willfully reckless, then he should also be considered guilty for the consequences of his actions.
As an analogy: I cannot intentionally murder someone by throwing a knife off of the Empire State Building. But should the thrown knife land in someone and kill them, I am considered guilty of reckless endangerment. I created a situation that, while I did not directly commit the murder, caused someone to die.

Having never served in the military but being a law enforcement officer, I understand the chain of command and more importantly, I understand politics. Jessup was a powerful man. IIRC Markinson made mention that Jessup was being considered for a position in the NSA which, as he said, you don't get into that kind of position without being able to dodge a few landmines. Couple that with the fact that this wasn't a landmark or high profile case, chances are when all is said and done, Jessup would have more then likely been forced to retire. Maybe not in disgrace but he would have lost the opportunity to be a part of the NSA. It would have been a shot to his ego but he wouldn't be prosecuted because while he might have ordered the Code Red, it was Kendrick who ordered the manner it was to be given. Jessup could claim plausible deniability by saying he meant for something like a blanket party but it was Kendrick who decided to take it to the next level which led to Santiago's death.

Also, while Dawson and Downey might have been simply following orders, their actions did lead to the death of a Marine and I do not see the Court Martial only finding them guilty of Conduct Unbecoming. The jury could have found them guilty of involuntary manslaughter. I mean, it isn't like Mafia hitmen are excused for whacking someone but they were only acting on orders.

If I understand your amply lengthy question correctly, you want to know how the court can punish him without sufficient proof against him. Actually Kaffee had a strong witness, i.e. Col. Markinson, whose testimony was sufficient to punish Col. Jessup. But due to his sad and sudden death, Kaffee felt lost. So the only thing Kaffee could think of was to produce Col. Jessup and to compel him to admit that he had ordered the Code Red. So he summoned Jessup in the court, questioned him wittingly, trapped him by exploiting his intolerant nature and finally made him admit that he had ordered Code Red himself. Now a self-admittance or confession is no doubt above all proofs. If somebody confesses his own misdeed, what else proof is needed for? So the court found him guilty.

What would have more than likely have happened is that that there would’ve been a General Order Memorandum of Record (GOMAR) that would’ve been issued that would have effectively stalled his career and he probably retires at that point.

The suspension of belief that a Colonel would go directly to a Platoon Leader and tell him to “beat the shit out of Santiago and straighten him out or else” notwithstanding, any charges against him would’ve been completely dropped. Any JAG attorney would have those charges thrown out.

Just looking at COL. Jessup uniform that he wears to court, he has been awarded the Navy Cross, Silver Star and Bronze Star with V Device; all of those are Valor awards with the Navy Cross being the second highest Medal there is. The character was the real deal. The character was also an Annapolis Graduate so he was highly educated as well. The actual conversation would never have went beyond Jessup and Markinson and would’ve went like this-

COL. Jessup- “this clown you got here Santiago is bitching and moaning to get off Gitmo. Do you have an issue with controlling your Marines because if you do, I’ll have you relieved.

LTC Markinson- Sir I think it best we get Santiago out of here for his benefit and the good of the unit.

COL. Jessup- “I don’t give a damn what you think, Matthew. You get your Marines in order. You get Santiago in order or I’m gonna have my boot so far up your ass you’ll be puking kiwi. Is that understood or do I have to further elaborate?

LTC Markinson- Clear Sir. I’ll handle it.

At that point, Markinson goes to Kendrick who in turn would’ve went to the Platoon Sergeant who in turn would’ve went to the squad leader. If Kendrick bypassed the Gunny, the Gunny would’ve had a polite and professional conversation with Kendrick about NCO business and how Officers and NCO have their own lanes that both need to stick to for unit cohesion, etc.......etc........

Is there was a push that COL. Jessup directly ordered a Code Red there would be an explanation as to the meaning and intention of that and in no reality would there be an historical precedent of placing a rag down a Marine throat in order to subdue him. The Code Red would be explained by his lawyers as “internal discipline” or some other such colorful terminology and the actual crux of focus would’ve been put where it should’ve been, on the two Marines that actually killed Santiago; something the play barely addresses from a moral standpoint.

Jessup has to be made a scapegoat otherwise the marine corps is condoning the code red. The US govt has to distance themselves from this. I think loss of rank and pension. Dishonorable discharge for conduct unbecoming.

Jessup will be charged with murder 4th degree (life or death sentence), burglary, perjury, obrstuction of justice, conduct unbecoming of a marine, conspiracy, manipulation of documents, insubordination, assault, wrongful imprisonmente, among other things.

He will probably have a life sentence without parole for the crime.