Declaring Martial Law

It is not uncommon for the topic of martial law to come up in emergency management circles. It could be while doing planning or perhaps during a disaster exercise. Someone will say something like, “What about declaring martial law?” Or “When might martial law be declared for this situation?”

I found this “Opinion Piece” from the New York Times to be informative on federal law and past practices here in the United States, Can Martial Law Happen in America?  All of this was brought on by the South Korean President declaring martial law and then being forced by constitutional forces in that country to back down. Martial law is not addressed in our constitution.

Now there are comments in the article about the incoming administration, its leadership and tenor. Ignore those if you will and just read the article for the history and past practices from history. Use the information that you find helpful for future discussions when the topic of martial law comes up again.