Chandler v. States

47 Fed. Cl. 106, 2000 U.S. Claims LEXIS 122, 2000 WL 854867
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedJune 22, 2000
DocketNo. 98-423C
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 47 Fed. Cl. 106 (Chandler v. States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Federal Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chandler v. States, 47 Fed. Cl. 106, 2000 U.S. Claims LEXIS 122, 2000 WL 854867 (uscfc 2000).

Opinion

OPINION

HORN, Judge.

FINDINGS OF FACT

The plaintiff, Gregory Chandler, filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on July 7, 1997. After the California District Court ordered the case transferred to this court for lack of jurisdiction, plaintiff filed his complaint in this court.1 Plaintiff alleges breach of contract, negligence, and due process violations, all stemming from his assertion that he has never been released from active military duty, and that he is an active duty major in the Army,2 who is entitled to promotion to the rank of lieutenant colonel and a correction of his military records to reflect credit for twenty-two years of military service for retirement purposes. At the same time, the plaintiff admits and states in his complaint that “[o]n September 30, 1991, Major Chandler ceased performing United States Army duties. Major Chandler however, was not discharged from the United States Army and remained on active duty and subject to being compelled to perform military duties.” He also claims that he is entitled to back pay of at least $500,000.00 and other monetary compensation.

Plaintiff contends that he is still a commissioned officer in the United States Army, and that his military status has been acknowledged by the Army on multiple occasions. Plaintiff relies on three groups of Army records to support his assertions, including: (1) three military pay computation reports, prepared in 1988, 1989, and 1991, which state that plaintiff was on active duty at the time the report was computed; (2) a form letter from Lieutenant General Allen K. Ono, dated [108]*108June 12,1990, which requests that plaintiff, a “Fellow Soldier,” complete a survey; and (3) two memoranda, one from the Department of the Army, dated June 6, 1992, which states, “This person is an officer on active duty” and another issued by the Army Board for the Correction of Military Records (ABCMR), dated November 9, 1994, which states, “The applicant is an officer in the United States Army.”

According to the plaintiff, Gregory Chandler, he first entered the United States Army on January 10, 1975. Beginning on June 6, 1975, he served on active duty as a legal clerk. He was honorably discharged from active duty June 5, 1978, and assigned to inactive status in the United States Army Reserve.

The Army records produced for the court are in conflict as to when the plaintiff was released from his obligation in the Reserves.3 In plaintiffs application for appointment, signed on March 6, 1987, he lists his reserve duty time as June 1978 to December 1978, while a service computation form in the record reflects inactive duty status through July, 1988.

Plaintiff states that he graduated from the University of Texas Law School in May, 1988. The record contains multiple applications to join the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAGC) to become a commissioned officer, including applications in March, 1987, and February, 1988. On May 31, 1988, Mr. Chandler accepted a reserve commission as a first lieutenant in the JAGC. In June, 1988, he was ordered to active duty, and reported on July 10, 1988, for a projected three-year term of service.

To be eligible for a commission as a JAG officer, Army Regulations require “a certificate or statement from the clerk of the highest court of a State or a Federal court. It should show the admission to practice and current standing before the bar.” Army Regulation 135-100 § IV ¶ 3-13(a)(2) (Feb. 1, 1984).

To satisfy the bar admission requirement for commissioning as a JAG officer, plaintiff submitted a letter, dated May 27, 1988, with his application, which was produced from the Army JAG Corps files, and which purported to be from James Chute, Clerk, Supreme Judicial Court of the State of Maine, stating: “I hereby certify that GREGORY CHANDLER is admitted to practice before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court of the State of Maine.” At the oral argument in this case, plaintiff denied having submitted this letter with his application, or that the signature on the letter is his. However, in the final Criminal Investigation Division (CID) Report of Investigation for the Department of the Army, dated April 12, 1990, the synopsis section states: “[investigation revealed that CHANDLER forged CHUTE’s name to a letter certifying that he (CHANDLER) was certified to practice law before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court of the State of Maine. CHANDLER then presented this document to the U.S. Army to obtain the position as a lawyer.”

Plaintiff also tries to argue that, for the purpose of meeting the bar requirement for JAG officers, he was admitted to the bar in Maine, pro hoc vice4 in September, 1987. Mr. Chandler stated that several of his friends who were going into federal service “started looking around and we did some calling. And we were told by the— some people in the Maine state bar ... I believe the term is pro hoc vitae [sic]____And we were told that if we just submitted our law school transcripts, apply for admission to the bar, we would receive admission to such bar.” Plaintiff argued that Debra Mazzolli [sic] [109]*109from the Clerk’s Office in Maine sent him a “certification style document” stating: “Gregory Chandler is a member of the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine.” Plaintiff does not have in his possession a copy of that document, or any other documents attesting to the fact that he was admitted to the bar to practice law in Maine in any capacity.

In a letter to Army officials dated November 27, 1989, James C. Chute, after having reviewed the May 27, 1988 letter indicated that “the signature on this document is not mine.” Mr. Chute’s letter further stated “Debra L. Mazeroll, Bar Admission Administrator, informs me that Gregory Chandler sat for the February 1988 bar exam, applied for but did not take the July 1988 bar exam, and sat for the July 1989 bar exam. He did not receive a passing grade on either of his two attempts and has not been admitted to the practice of law in the State of Maine.”

In October, 1989, due to a poor performance evaluation, the Staff Judge Advocate at Fort Dix requested a verification of Chandler’s credentials through JAG channels. An Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) inquiry followed, including handwriting analyses, comparisons of the typewriter ink on plaintiff’s application to the JAGC with the pin-ported letter from the Clerk’s Office in Maine, and analysis of paper and ink samples from the Clerk’s Office. On December 13, 1989, a forgery charge was preferred against Mr. Chandler at Fort Dix. The CID report, issued in. January, 1990, stated that “[t]here are strong indications CHANDLER wrote the original of the questioned facsimile signature” appearing on the letter purported to be from Mr. Chute. The Army conducted an investigation pursuant to Article 32 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), 10 U.S.C. § 832 (1994 & Supp. III 1997), to determine the disposition of the forgery charge. After completing the Article 32 investigation, Army authorities declined to refer the charges to a court-martial. Instead, the Army deferred to The Judge Advocate General’s determination to void Mr. Chandler’s status as a commissioned officer in the JAGC.5 In a letter, dated March 7, 1990, the plaintiff was advised that:

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Bluebook (online)
47 Fed. Cl. 106, 2000 U.S. Claims LEXIS 122, 2000 WL 854867, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chandler-v-states-uscfc-2000.