Supreme Court decision clearly states who has the authority to declare martial law and under what circumstances.Ĭonstitutional law scholars who study executive power and the origin of martial law note that the President is the commander in chief of the military. The United States Constitution doesn't explicitly mention martial law. The federal government's authority to invoke martial law is less settled and has been used sparingly. Historically, state governors are most likely to declare martial law in cities and counties in their jurisdictions. Bush deployed the National Guard to help state and local law enforcement suppress riots in Los Angeles. For example, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, federal troops used military helicopters to conduct search and rescue missions that local governments were unable to do themselves. Domestic military assistance supports, rather than supplants, civilian government. Federal and state authorities are much more likely to request "domestic military assistance," which is not the same as martial law. Since the United States was founded in 1776, government officials have declared martial law roughly 68 times. When martial law is in effect, military commanders, not elected officials, make laws soldiers, not local police, enforce laws and ordinary citizens accused of defying martial law might face military tribunals instead of civilian courts.Ĭivilian governments rarely invoke martial law. The defining feature of martial law is the displacement of the civilian government by the military. Martial Law or Domestic Military Assistance? In the United States, government officials have invoked martial law during war, labor disputes, natural disasters, and in times of civil unrest. Martial law is the temporary substitution of military authority for civilian government in an emergency.
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