FORT MEADE, Md. — The Marine Corps’ top correctional administrator said Wednesday that brig officials at Quantico, Va., used improper procedures to recommend that an Army private charged with giving US secrets to the WikiLeaks website be held in maximum custody.

Chief Warrant Officer 5 Abel Galaviz testified at a pretrial hearing at Fort Meade to determine whether the nine months that Private First Class Bradley Manning spent in the brig amounted to illegal punishment, possibly warranting a dismissal of the case.