An Active Case—Bowe Bergdahl’s Legal Situation
12/14/2015, 5:00pm
The army announced today that it is referring Bowe Bergdahl’s case to a general court-martial, the military’s version of a felony criminal trial.

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl and his lawyer Eugene Fidell watched as Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dahl was questioned during the Article 32 hearing on Sept. 18.
Associated Press/Brigitte WoosleyFor the past few months, Bergdahl’s case has been in somewhat of a legal limbo. In September, the army conducted what’s called an Article 32 hearing on Bergdahl’s charges—a proceeding similar to a civilian grand jury. At the conclusion of the Article 32, the presiding officer, Lt. Col. Mark Visger, wrote a report for Gen. Robert Abrams, the convening authority in this case, recommending next steps. This report wasn’t made public, but a memo from Bergdahl’s defense team responding to the report suggested that Visger’s recommendation was for the case not to go to general court-martial, but to a special court-martial instead. The difference is significant: A special court-martial is sort of like a misdemeanor court, where more minor cases are resolved. The maximum jail time a person can receive at a special court-martial is one year, and a special court-martial cannot give a dishonorable discharge.
However it is now clear that Gen. Abrams has decided to send both charges—desertion and misbehavior before the enemy—to a general court-martial.
Bergdahl’s case will be arraigned at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, which is where U.S. Army Forces Command is headquartered. The army has not yet announced a date.
Updated Dec. 14, 2015: An earlier version of this post stated that Gen. Robert Abrams had not made a decision on the recommendation coming from the Article 32 hearing. This has been updated to reflect the news, which broke Monday afternoon, that the army has ordered Bergdahl to face a general court-martial.