10 U.S.C. § 851 — Art. 51. Voting and rulings

(a) Members of a general or special court-martial must vote on findings and sentence by secret written ballot. The junior member counts the votes. The president checks the count and immediately announces the result to the members.

(b) The military judge^* decides every legal question and interlocutory question arising during the proceeding. The judge’s ruling on such a question, other than the factual question of the accused’s mental responsibility, is final and is the court’s ruling, but the judge may change it at any time during trial.

(c) Before the findings vote, in the accused’s and counsel’s presence, the military judge must explain the offense’s elements and instruct the members that (1) the accused is presumed innocent until legal and competent evidence proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt; (2) a reasonable doubt about guilt must be resolved for the accused, who must be acquitted; (3) a reasonable doubt about the degree of guilt requires a finding at the lower degree for which there is no reasonable doubt; and (4) the United States bears the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

(d) Subsections (a) through (c) do not apply to a judge-only court-martial. Its military judge decides all legal and factual questions and, if the accused is convicted, imposes an appropriate sentence. The judge makes a general finding and, on request, specially finds the facts. If the judge files an opinion or decision memorandum, it is enough for the factual findings to appear there.