In a GCM, who prepares pretrial advice?

• A. The NAF CC
• B. The Defense Counsel
• C. The ACC
• D. The NAF SJA

Answer: (D)

In a General Court-Martial, the pretrial advice is the formal assessment that guides the convening authority on how to handle the case. This document is prepared by the Staff Judge Advocate assigned to the Naval Activity (NAF SJA). The SJA serves as the legal advisor, reviewing the charges, evidence, potential legal issues, and possible dispositions, and then outlining recommended actions and any pretrial matters. This role requires prosecutorial and defense insight and legal analysis to anticipate how the case might unfold at trial and to identify appropriate pretrial rulings.

The defense counsel focuses on representing the accused and may contribute information, but they do not author the pretrial advice. The convening authority (often the NAF CC) uses the pretrial advice to make decisions about referring charges and trial strategy, not the authoring role itself. The other option, ACC, is not the officer responsible for drafting pretrial advice.