Dr. Bull and his team handled their first case before a military tribunal in this week’s episode. A young lieutenant was arrested for leaking a confidential memo to an online newspaper named “GlobeSpill,” a Wikileaks-type operation. The memo documented the United States’ accidental bombing of a Syrian hospital, killing 36 civilian patients and medical personnel. It quoted the responsible colonel flippantly remarking that he cared not about the casualties as long as he realized his tactical goals. For leaking the memo, the lieutenant faced four counts of violating the Espionage Act. Dr. Bull decides to help the young whistleblower.
What made this episode interesting is that convictions in a military tribunal only require unanimous verdicts if the charge carries the potential of the death penalty. Because the lieutenant only faced a potential life sentence, just nine of the twelve jurors needed to find her guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Non-unanimity is not unique to military tribunals, however. To be sure, the Sixth and Seventh Amendment’s guarantee of unanimous findings of guilt or liability apply only in federal court. These liberties have not been incorporated against the states.
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