republic-os/legal/us/code/title-10/chapter-47/section-853.md

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LegalText	10 U.S.C. § 853	Art. 53. Findings and sentencing	us	united_states_code	code_section	10	ARMED FORCES	47	UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE	853	10 U.S.C. § 853	current	119-100	2026-06-26	official	https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc10@119-100.zip	/us/usc/t10/s853	data/legal/raw/us/code/title-10/usc10.xml	597fa6861fe94d082cfaee1932c9e31aa578d6fc3d11c92fa5f59109f12050fe	06a2679d38355c44f4219c983fdad34009233205d6ba271593a4c1b17a739ec1	ad1a642f44ba22a848dbe459bc07cb2c4211c75b5c4aa8366b6a9adeb658df3d	2026-07-04	official	legal us-code

10 U.S.C. § 853 - Art. 53. Findings and sentencing

Text

(a) Announcement.— A court-martial shall announce its findings and sentence to the parties as soon as determined.

(b) Sentencing Generally.— (1) General and special courts-martial.— Except as provided in subsection (c) for capital offenses, if the accused is convicted of an offense in a trial by general or special court-martial, the military judge shall sentence the accused. The sentence determined by the military judge constitutes the sentence of the court-martial.

(2) Summary courts-martial.— If the accused is convicted of an offense in a trial by summary court-martial, the court-martial shall sentence the accused.

(c) Sentencing for Capital Offenses.— (1) In general.— In a capital case, if the accused is convicted of an offense for which the court-martial may sentence the accused to death—

(A) the members shall determine—

(i) whether the sentence for that offense shall be death or life in prison without eligibility for parole; or

(ii) whether the matter shall be returned to the military judge for determination of a lesser punishment; and

(B) the military judge shall sentence the accused for that offense in accordance with the determination of the members under subparagraph (A).

(2) Lesser authorized punishments.— In accordance with regulations prescribed by the President, the military judge may include in any sentence to death or life in prison without eligibility for parole other lesser punishments authorized under this chapter.

(3) Other non-capital offenses.— In a capital case, if the accused is convicted of a non-capital offense, the accused shall be sentenced for such non-capital offense in accordance with subsection (b), regardless of whether the accused is convicted of an offense for which the court-martial may sentence the accused to death.

(Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 56; Pub. L. 114–328, div. E, title LVII, § 5236, Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2916; Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title X, § 1081(c)(1)(G), Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1598; Pub. L. 117–81, div. A, title V, § 539E(a), Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 1700.)

Notes

Historical and Revision Notes Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 85350:628.May 5, 1950, ch. 169, § 1 (Art. 53), 64 Stat. 125. The word “A” is substituted for the word “Every”.

Editorial Notes

Amendments2021—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 117–81, § 539E(a)(1), amended par. (1) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (1) provided that, except for capital offenses, accused who is convicted in trial by general or special court-martial shall be sentenced by military judge or, if court-martial consisted of military judge and members, accused may elect sentencing by members. Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 117–81, § 539E(a)(2)(A), amended par. (1) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “In a capital case, if the accused is convicted of an offense for which the court-martial may sentence the accused to death, the members shall determine whether the sentence for that offense shall be death or a lesser authorized punishment.” Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 117–81, § 539E(a)(2)(B), substituted “the military judge” for “the court-martial”. 2017—Subsec. (b)(1)(B). Pub. L. 115–91 struck out “in a trial” after “convicted of an offense”. 2016—Pub. L. 114–328 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “A court-martial shall announce its findings and sentence to the parties as soon as determined.”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 2021 AmendmentPub. L. 117–81, div. A, title V, § 539E(f), Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 1706, provided that: “The amendments made by this section [amending this section and sections 853a, 856, and 866 of this title and repealing provisions set out as a note under section 856 of this title] shall take effect on the date that is two years after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 27, 2021] and shall apply to sentences adjudged in cases in which all findings of guilty are for offenses that occurred after the date that is two years after the date of the enactment of this Act.”

Effective Date of 2017 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 115–91 effective immediately after the amendments made by div. E (§§ 5001–5542) of Pub. L. 114–328 take effect as provided for in section 5542 of that Act (10 U.S.C. 801 note), see section 1081(c)(4) of Pub. L. 115–91, set out as a note under section 801 of this title.

Effective Date of 2016 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 114–328 effective on Jan. 1, 2019, as designated by the President, with implementing regulations and provisions relating to applicability to various situations, see section 5542 of Pub. L. 114–328 and Ex. Ord. No. 13825, set out as notes under section 801 of this title.