Personal Jurisdiction Under Article 2, UCMJ Whither Russo, Catlow, and Brown?

The question of personal jurisdiction for military courts in cases of invalid enlistment creates several legal issues. Invalid enlistment cases exist in a legal gray area due to the uncertainty of whether the cases should be tried by civilian or military courts. The age and competence of the enlistee are material to determining jurisdiction. The conduct of the recruiter directly affects whether the enlistee was competent. Congress amended Article 2 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice in order to address these problems. The amendment resolves many of the lingering jurisdictional issues created by Russo and Brown, but fails to address the question of voluntariness of enlistment as seen in Catlow. Nonetheless, the statute may be successful in simplifying litigation of personal jurisdiction in invalid enlistment cases