Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-110
§825a Art. 25a. Number of Court-martial Members in Capital Cases
Title 10 › Subtitle A — General Military Law › PART II — PERSONNEL › CHAPTER 47 — UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE › SUBCHAPTER V — COMPOSITION OF COURTS-MARTIAL › § 825a
Summary
When a service member could be sentenced to death at trial, the court panel must have 12 members. If the case began as a capital case but the death penalty is no longer possible before the members are picked, the panel must have 8 members. If the change happens after the members are already picked, the panel stays at 12 members. This rule is subject to section 829 (article 29).
Full Legal Text
Title 10, §825a
Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)In General.—
In a case in which the accused may be sentenced to death, the number of members shall be 12.
(b)Case No Longer Capital.—
Subject to section 829 of this title (article 29)—
(1)if a case is referred for trial as a capital case and, before the members are impaneled, the accused may no longer be sentenced to death, the number of members shall be eight; and
(2)if a case is referred for trial as a capital case and, after the members are impaneled, the accused may no longer be sentenced to death, the number of members shall remain 12.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2016—Pub. L. 114–328 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “In a case in which the accused may be sentenced to a penalty of death, the number of members shall be not less than 12, unless 12 members are not reasonably available because of physical conditions or military exigencies, in which case the convening authority shall specify a lesser number of members not less than five, and the court may be assembled and the trial held with not less than the number of members so specified. In such a case, the convening authority shall make a detailed written statement, to be appended to the record, stating why a greater number of members were not reasonably available.”
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.
Effective Date
Section applicable with respect to offenses committed after Dec. 31, 2002, see section 582(d) of Pub. L. 107–107, set out as an
Effective Date
of 2001 Amendment note under section 816 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
10 U.S.C. § 825a
Title 10, Armed Forces
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110