Learn Spanish (Latin America): Habiendo aceptado el veredicto, el tribunal anunció la sentencia. - Having accepted the verdict, the court announced the sentence.

The perfect gerund (habiendo + past participle) emphasizes that the first action was completely finished before the main action (anunció) happened. It translates directly to "Having accepted" in English and sets up a clear chronological timeline of events.

Who is doing the "accepting" in this sentence?

Because there is no other subject mentioned before the comma, the subject of the gerund is assumed to be the same as the main clause: el tribunal (the court). The court accepted the verdict, and then it announced the sentence. If someone else (like the defendant) had accepted it, Spanish would require adding that subject explicitly right after the gerund: Habiendo aceptado el acusado el veredicto...

Are veredicto and sentencia interchangeable here?

No, they refer to different steps in the legal process, just like in English. A veredicto is the decision of guilt or innocence (the verdict, usually from a jury), while the sentencia is the specific punishment or final ruling handed down by the judge or court.

Is it common to use the perfect gerund in everyday speech, or is there another way to phrase this?