Explain the nondisclosure of existence of a plea agreement.

• A. The MJ is aware of the entire plea agreement
• B. The members are not informed of the existence of a plea agreement
• C. DoJ approval is required to disclose the plea agreement
• D. The plea agreement is disclosed only to the defense

Answer: (B)

The key idea is protecting the panel’s impartiality by keeping negotiations out of their view. When a plea agreement exists, revealing that to the court-martial members could bias their guilt decision. If jurors know there’s a deal, they might convict to influence the outcome or feel pressure to reach a favorable sentence for the accused — or they might read the negotiations as a signal about guilt. Keeping the existence of the plea agreement unknown to the members helps ensure they decide guilt solely on the evidence presented in court. The military judge, and the parties as appropriate, handle the process and record, but the panel remains uninformed to preserve fairness. The other options don’t fit because they either imply the panel should know or rely on external approvals or misstate who should receive the information.