United States v. Matlock

Opinion of the Court

DaRden, Judge:

Tried and convicted by a general court-martial at Fort Gordon, Georgia, of desertion, in violation of Article 85, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 USC § 865, the appellant was sentenced to a dishonorable discharge, total forfeitures, confinement at hard labor for three years (reduced to two years by the convening authority), and reduction to the lowest enlisted grade. We granted the appellant’s petition for review to consider the consequences of the law officer’s failure to orally instruct the court-martial on sentence voting procedures.

Here, as in United…