10 U.S.C. § 844 (ARMED FORCES)
§ 844. Art. 44. Former jeopardy
(a) No person may, without his consent, be tried a second time for the same offense.
(b) No proceeding in which an accused has been found guilty by a court-martial upon any charge or specification is a trial in the sense of this article until the finding of guilty has become final after review of the case has been fully completed.
(c) A proceeding which, after the introduction of evidence but before a finding, is dismissed or terminated by the convening authority or on motion of the prosecution for failure of available evidence or witnesses without any fault of the accused is a trial in the sense of this article.
(Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 52; Pub. L. 114–328, div. E, title LVII, § 5226, Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2910.)
heading: Amendment of Subsection (c)
text: Pub. L. 114–328, div. E, title LVII, § 5226, title LXIII, § 5542, Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2910, 2967, and Ex. Ord. No. 13825, Mar. 1, 2018, 83 F.R. 9889, provided that, except as otherwise provided, effective on Jan. 1, 2019, as designated by the President, with implementing regulations and provisions relating to applicability to various situations, subsection (c) is amended to read as follows:
(c)(1) A court-martial with a military judge alone is a trial in the sense of this section (article) if, without fault of the accused—
(A) after introduction of evidence; and
(B) before announcement of findings under section 853 of this title (article 53);
the case is dismissed or terminated by the convening authority or on motion of the prosecution for failure of available evidence or witnesses.
(2) A court-martial with a military judge and members is a trial in the sense of this section (article) if, without fault of the accused—
(A) after the members, having taken an oath as members under section 842 of this title (article 42) and after completion of challenges under section 841 of this title (article 41), are impaneled; and
(B) before announcement of findings under section 853 of this title (article 53);
the case is dismissed or terminated by the convening authority or on motion of the prosecution for failure of available evidence or witnesses.
See 2016 Amendment note below.
text: Historical and Revision Notes
Revised section
Source (U.S. Code)
Source (Statutes at Large)
844(a)
844(b)
844(c)
50:619(a).
50:619(b).
50:619(c).
May 5, 1950, ch. 169, § 1 (Art. 44), 64 Stat. 122.
In subsection (a), the word “may” is substituted for the word “shall”.
In subsection (b), the word “is” is substituted for the words “shall be held to be”.
In subsection (c), the word “after” is substituted for the words “subsequent to”. The word “before” is substituted for the words “prior to”. The word “is” is substituted for the words “shall be”.
heading: Amendments
text: 2016—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 114–328 amended subsec. (c) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (c) read as follows: “A proceeding which, after the introduction of evidence but before a finding, is dismissed or terminated by the convening authority or on motion of the prosecution for failure of available evidence or witnesses without any fault of the accused is a trial in the sense of this article.”
heading: Effective Date of 2016 Amendment
text: Amendment 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.