Hickey v. Secretary of Army

320 F. Supp. 1241, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15084
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedJanuary 13, 1971
DocketMisc. Civ. No. 70-125-C
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 320 F. Supp. 1241 (Hickey v. Secretary of Army) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hickey v. Secretary of Army, 320 F. Supp. 1241, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15084 (D. Mass. 1971).

Opinion

OPINION

CAFFREY, District Judge.

This is a civil action in which plaintiff, a Private in the United States Army Reserve, seeks declaratory and injunctive relief against respondents, the Secretary of the Army, the Commanding Officer of the 399th Evacuation Hospital Unit, and the Commanding General, First Army. Jurisdiction of this court is invoked under 28 U.S.C.A. § 1331.

The complaint recites that plaintiff has received an order to report for active duty in the Army at Fort Dix, New Jersey, pursuant to the provisions of AR 135-91, on the grounds that, while a member of a reserve component, he was absent from prescribed drills on five occasions. Plaintiff challenges the validity of the order to active duty on the grounds that AR 135-91, on which that order is based, is unconstitutional on its face, as it does not provide for a hearing as a part of its appeal process. The complaint alleges that plaintiff was marked absent at several drills at which he was actually present, but that, in fact, he was given an absent mark by a military superior on the grounds that his appearance, consisting of extra-long growth of hair and sideburns, was unsatisfactory to his military superiors.

The matter came before the court for hearing on plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction. At the hearing, documentation from plaintiff's “201 File” was produced by Capt. Lea B. Pendleton, of the Army Judge Advocate General’s section. This indicated that according to the records of plaintiff’s reserve unit, he was absent from four of the five drills in question, and that he was marked absent pursuant to the provisions of AR 135-91 because of the appearance he presented during a formal unit-inspection at the fifth drill, held on 18 May 1970.

It should be noted initially that on the occasion of each unauthorized absence by plaintiff from a scheduled drill, he was sent, by certified mail-return receipt requested, a Form 840, “Letter of Instruction-Obligation to Participate Satisfactorily,” advising him that he had been credited with an unexcused absence on the particular date of that absence, and of the type of drill which he had missed. He was reminded, in paragraph 2 of the form, that,

“A member who accrues in any one year period a total of five or more unexcused absences from scheduled training assemblies is subject to being reduced to grade E-2 and being or[1243]*1243dered to active duty for a period which when added to prior service on active duty, active duty for training, annual field training or full time training duty, will total 24 months.”

Paragraph 3 of Form 840 explains to the reservist how he may convert his absence from unexcused to excused within fourteen days of the absence if certain conditions existed to justify his absence, such as sickness, injury, emergency or other circumstances beyond his control.

Paragraph 4 of Form 840 advises the reservist of the total number of unexcused absences he has accrued within a year, and the concluding paragraph, paragraph 5, sets out the hour and date of the next scheduled training assembly which he is obliged to attend.

With reference to all five absences on the part of petitioner, the Forms 840 indicate that information with regard to each absence, similar to that described above, was given and, in each case, what appears to be petitioner’s signature upon a return receipt is affixed to the bottom of the Forms 840 offered at the hearing. I am satisfied, on the basis of comparing petitioner’s signature on the verified complaint with the signatures on the return receipt cards, that petitioner did in fact get actual notice and did sign for receipt of the Form 840 on all five occasions.

AR 135-91 defines satisfactory participation at a drill as follows, in paragraph 5d(2):

“Attendance at all scheduled unit training assemblies as a member of a paid drill unit of the Army National Guard or Army Reserve, unless excused by proper authority as provided herein. A member present at a scheduled unit training assembly will not receive credit for attendance thereat unless he is in' the prescribed uniform, presents a neat and soldierly appearance, and performs his assigned duties in a satisfactory manner as determined by the unit commander.”

Basic to all contentions on the part of the plaintiff herein is the allegation that a denial of procedural due process underlies the procedures followed by the military authorities with reference to plaintiff. It is well to recall the admonition of Chief Justice Warren in Hannah v. Larche, 363 U.S. 420, at p. 442, 80 S.Ct. 1502, at p. 1514, 4 L.Ed.2d 1307 (1960):

“ ‘Due process’ is an elusive concept. Its exact boundaries are undefinable, and its content varies according to specific factual contexts. * * * Whether the Constitution requires that a particular right obtain in a specific proceeding depends upon a complexity of factors.”

That persons who have voluntarily enlisted in a branch of the military service of the United States are governed by different laws, procedures and considerations than those which govern civilians, has been clearly established by the Supreme Court in its opinion in Burns v. Wilson, 346 U.S. 137, 73 S.Ct. 1045, 97 L.Ed. 1508 (1953). There, the Court pointed out, at p. 140, 73 S.Ct. at p. 1047-1048:

“Military law, like state law, is a jurisprudence which exists separate and apart from the law which governs in our federal judicial establishment. This Court has played no role in its development; we have exerted no supervisory power over the courts which enforce it; the rights of men in the armed forces must perforce be conditioned to meet certain overriding demands of discipline and duty, and the civil courts are not the agencies which must determine the precise balance to be struck in this adjustment. The Framers expressly entrusted that task to Congress.
“Indeed, Congress has taken great care both to define the rights of those subject to military law, and provide a complete system of review within the military system to secure those rights.”

A similar thought was expressed by the Supreme Court the same year in Orloff v. Willoughby, 345 U.S. 83, at p. 93, [1244]*124473 S.Ct. 534, at p. 540, 97 L.Ed. 842 (1953), where Mr. Justice Jackson observed :

“However, we are convinced that it is not within the power of this Court by habeas corpus to determine whether specific assignments to duty fall within the basic classification of petitioner * * *
“We know that from top to bottom of the Army the complaint is often made, and sometimes with justification, that there is discrimination, favoritism or other objectionable handling of men. But judges are not given the task of running the Army.”

and at p. 94, 73 S.Ct. at p. 540:

“The military constitutes a specialized community governed by a separate discipline from that of the civilian. Orderly government requires that the judiciary be as scrupulous not to interfere with légitimate Army matters as the Army must be scrupulous not to intervene in judicial matters.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
320 F. Supp. 1241, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15084, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hickey-v-secretary-of-army-mad-1971.