Denton v. Seamans

315 F. Supp. 279, 1970 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11071
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedJuly 1, 1970
DocketNo. C-50957
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 315 F. Supp. 279 (Denton v. Seamans) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Denton v. Seamans, 315 F. Supp. 279, 1970 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11071 (N.D. Cal. 1970).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

SWEIGERT, District Judge.

This suit is brought by plaintiff, a former Air Force Captain, against the Secretary of the Air Force for a declaration that his general discharge certificate (under honorable conditions) was illegal and of no effect and for pay and emoluments of the office since that date.

The record shows that plaintiff’s discharge resulted from a Board of Inquiry proceeding convened in Germany on August 12-13, 1964, under 10 U.S.C. § 8791 et seq. and Air Force Regulations 36-2. The Board of Inquiry proceedings were thereafter reviewed and affirmed as provided by the statute and the discharge by the Secretary of the Air Force followed on January 26, 1965.

Thereafter, on March 22, 1968, plaintiff applied, pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 1552, to the Air Force Board For The Correction of Military Records for relief from the discharge on grounds of error and injustice. On May 23, 1968, that Board denied plaintiff’s application. This suit was commenced March 14,1969.

The complaint alleges 1 that the proceedings were illegal for various reasons hereinafter set forth.

The case is now before the court on motion of the defendant Secretary for dismissal or in the alternative for summary judgment based on the certified administrative record filed by counsel for defendant.

The record shows that plaintiff was charged with and discharged for (1) Improper association with one Schumacher, an alleged agent of East German Intelligence Service (Finding 1(a)); (2) Cohabitation and adultery with a woman not his wife, he being married (Finding 1(b)); (3) Improper attitude toward his Commander, Lt. Col. Wyse (Finding 1(c)); (4) Possession of obscene photographs in his Air Force quarters; (5) Mismanagement of his personal affairs (Finding 2); said charges all allegedly being in violation of the applicable regulations.

DENIAL OF CONFRONTATION AND CROSS-EXAMINATION

Plaintiff’s first contention is that the Board improperly admitted into evidence and considered a statement of his commanding officer Lt. Col. Wyse without [281]*281granting plaintiff’s request for delay of the hearing to take depositions of Wyse or until Wyse would be available to testify.

The statute under which the Air Force Board of Inquiry was held (10 U.S.C. §§ 8791-8796), provides in effect that the Secretary of the Air Force may convene a board of officers to review the record of any commissioned officer to determine whether he shall be required, because of moral dereliction, professional dereliction, or because his retention is not clearly consistent with the interests of national security, to show cause for his retention on the active list. (§ 8791); that such officer shall be given a fair and impartial hearing; that the officer shall be notified in writing of the charges against him at least 30 days before hearing and allowed reasonable time, as determined by the Board of Inquiry under regulations of the Secretary, to prepare his defense and allowed to appear in person and by counsel before the Board and allowed full access to and furnished copies of records relevant to his case (§ 8795); that if the Board of Inquiry determines that the officer has failed to establish that he should be retained, it shall send the record to a board of review (§§ 8792, 8793); that the Secretary may remove an officer from the active list if his removal is recommended by a board of review and the Secretary’s action in such a case is final and conclusive.

On the subject of “witnesses” the pertinent regulations, AFR 36-2 (Par. 24 (e)), provide that the officer under charges may request the appearance of any witness whose testimony he believes to be pertinent to his case, specifying in his request the type of information the witness can provide, and the Board will invite the witnes to attend if it considers that the witness is reasonably available and that his testimony can add materially to the case (Par. 24(c)).

Further, on that subject, Paragraph 26(d) provides that the Board should invite witnesses to appear if reasonably available and, if in the Board’s opinion, their testimony is essential or will contribute materially to the case, Art. 49 USMJ (10 U.S.C. § 849) being used as a general guide in determining availability. The use of affidavits or depositions to obtain testimony of witnesses who are not reasonably available is encouraged. Further, Paragraph 26(d) (2) provides how the Board may request the appearance of members of the Air Force in active military service.

On the subject of “evidence” the pertinent regulations AFR 36-2 (Par. 24 (d)), provide that the officer may submit depositions or unsworn statements, certificates or affidavits for the consideration of the Board of Inquiry and, further, Paragraph 24(f), he may question any witness brought before the Board. Paragraph 26 provides that strict rules of evidence will not be followed but reasonable bounds of relevancy, competency and materiality should be maintained.

On the subject of delay of the hearing Paragraph 26(d) provides that the .officer under charges, within 5 calendar days after receipt of notice of place and date of hearing, may request that the hearing be delayed for a specific period of time, normally not more than 15 calendar days; that a delay of more than 15 days will not be granted unless denial will prejudice the rights of the respondent ; that requests for delay must clearly establish that the delay is essential for respondent to prepare his case. The Board President will forward any request for delay of more than 15 days to the Major Commander who may approve requests up to 30 days, but, if he disapproves, he in turn will forward it to Air Force Headquarters for final decision.

The record on this point shows that plaintiff was notified as early as February 13, 1964, that he was being recommended for elimination under AFR 36-2 and was furnished with a copy of the letter of recommendation with the evidence in support of the reasons for recommendation attached; his request for a 28 day delay “to obtain statements from certain individuals who live within the [282]*282United States” was granted to the extent of 15 days under AFR 36-2, par. 14; on March 16th plaintiff filed his rebuttal; on May 6th a selection board recommended that plaintiff be required to show cause for retention and on May 20th the Commander-in-Chief, Air Force Europe, approved; on May 21st plaintiff was so notified and was again furnished a copy of the elimination recommendation and a copy of the selection board report; on June 2d plaintiff stated his intention of appearing before a Board of Inquiry, acknowledged having counsel and stated his full understanding of the procedures involved and of his rights and options; on July 1st plaintiff was notified of hearing scheduled for July 16th; on July 10th plaintiff requested a 15 day delay to July 31st which was granted, and also requested the appearance of Lt. Col. Wyse as a witness; on July 21st plaintiff acknowledged advice of Lt. Col.

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Bluebook (online)
315 F. Supp. 279, 1970 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11071, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/denton-v-seamans-cand-1970.