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

In October 1979, Congress exercised its "constitutional duty" -its long-recognized powers of control of the armed forces. It amended Article 2 the Uniform Code of Military Justice to provide for court-martial jurisdiction over a wide range of individuals who might not have otherwise been considered service members for purposes of personal jurisdiction. The amendment cuts to. the heart of a number of controversial Court of Military Appeals decisions which had voided enlistments on a variety of grounds. Although the amendment appears to settle some jurisdictional issues, it also raises a number of new legal issues and practical problems. Some of these issues have been raised and decided before under other jurisdictional arguments. Others remain untested. Before addressing a variety of issues which counsel may expect to see litigated, we turn first to the statute itself