Deliberations and Verdicts
As in civil trials, the Court will be instructed that the members must decide guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and the burden of establishing that level is on the government, not the defense.
The Court then will deliberate. It may ask questions of law, seek review of evidence and similar matters, which will be subject to argument by counsels and decided by the judge.
Court members must decide on the charges and on the specification cited under the overriding charge, again on the standard of beyond a reasonable doubt.
The court could find the accused not guilty of the main charge but guilty of a less severe crime, called the lesser included offense. For example, manslaughter rather than murder, or unauthorized absence instead of desertion.
Unlike civilian juries, the military court can convict if two thirds of the members concur, except in a death penalty case, which requires a unanimous verdict.
On conviction, the trial goes into a separate sentencing hearing in which the counsels can present aggravating or mitigating evidence and the accused may speak. The Manual for Courts Martial (download PDF) provides maximum sentences for each offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, but the court may recommend less severe punishment. The judge may reduce, but cannot increase the court’s recommended sentence.
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