Section VI · Witnesses
Rule 606. Member's competency as a witness
2024 Manual for Courts-Martial, United States
Recent revisions Summary of changes Cited by (5)(a) At the Trial by Court-Martial. A member of a court-martial may not testify as a witness before the other members at any proceeding of that court-martial. If a member is called to testify, the military judge must give the opposing party an opportunity to object outside the presence of the members.
(b) During an Inquiry into the Validity of a Finding or Sentence.
(1) Prohibited Testimony or Other Evidence. During an inquiry into the validity of a finding or sentence, a member of a court-martial may not testify about any statement made or incident that occurred during the deliberations of that court-martial; the effect of anything on that member's or another member's vote; or any member's mental processes concerning the finding or sentence. The military judge may not receive a member's affidavit or evidence of a member's statement on these matters.
(2) Exceptions. A member may testify about whether:
(A) extraneous prejudicial information was improperly brought to the members' attention;
(B) unlawful command influence or any other outside influence was improperly brought to bear on any member; or
(C) a mistake was made in entering the finding or sentence on the finding or sentence forms.
Cross-referencesCited by 5
Cited by
Provisions elsewhere in the Manual whose text cites Rule 606. Each link opens the citing provision.
Rules for Courts-Martial
Discussion under R.C.M. 912(f)(4) — Challenge of selection of members; examination and challenges of members
See Mil. R. Evid. 606 regarding when a member may be a witness. Random numbers are assigned to the members in order to organize…
R.C.M. 922(e) — Announcement of findings
Polling prohibited. Except as provided in Mil. R. Evid. 606, members may not be questioned about their deliberations and voting.
Discussion under R.C.M. 923 — Impeachment of findings
Deliberations of the members ordinarily are not subject to disclosure. See Mil. R. Evid. 606. Unsound reasoning by a member, misconception of the evidence, or misapplication of the law is not a proper…
R.C.M. 1007(d) — Announcement of sentence
Polling prohibited. Except as provided in Mil. R. Evid. 606, members may not otherwise be questioned about their deliberations and voting.
Military Rules of Evidence
Mil. R. Evid. 509 — Deliberations of courts and juries
Except as provided in Mil. R. Evid. 606, the deliberations of courts, courts-martial, military judges, and grand and petit juries are privileged to…