Title 10Armed ForcesRelease 119-73

§879 Art. 79. Conviction of offense charged, lesser included offenses, and attempts

Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— - General Military Law › Part PART II— - PERSONNEL › Chapter CHAPTER 47— - UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER X— - PUNITIVE ARTICLES › § 879

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

A person on trial can be found guilty of the crime charged, of a smaller crime that's part of that charge, of trying to commit the charged crime, or of trying to commit the smaller crime if that attempt is itself a crime. Lesser included offense — a crime that is necessarily part of the charged crime or one listed by rules the President makes. Any crime added by those rules must reasonably be part of the larger crime.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §879

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)An accused may be found guilty of any of the following:
(1)The offense charged.
(2)A lesser included offense.
(3)An attempt to commit the offense charged.
(4)An attempt to commit a lesser included offense, if the attempt is an offense in its own right.
(b)In this section (article), the term “lesser included offense” means—
(1)an offense that is necessarily included in the offense charged; and
(2)any lesser included offense so designated by regulation prescribed by the President.
(c)Any designation of a lesser included offense in a regulation referred to in subsection (b) shall be reasonably included in the greater offense.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 87950:673.May 5, 1950, ch. 169, § 1 (Art. 79), 64 Stat. 134.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2016—Pub. L. 114–328 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “An accused may be found guilty of an offense necessarily included in the offense charged or of an attempt to commit either the offense charged or an offense necessarily included therein.”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

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.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 879

Title 10Armed Forces

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73