United States v. Hawkins

Opinion of the Court

A recent change in the Manual for Courts-Martial mandates that, if a determination of guilt is reached in a trial by court-martial, “the military judge . will personally remind the accused of his rights to make a sown or unsworn statement to the court in mitigation or extenuation of the offenses of which he stands guilty, or to remain silent.” Paragraph 53h, MCM (change 1). Since the Manual provision falls within the President’s statutory authority to prescribe rules of trial procedure,1 and is not otherwise inconsistent with the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the…