Rhoades v. United States

668 F.2d 1213, 229 Ct. Cl. 282, 1982 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 28
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedJanuary 13, 1982
DocketNo. 344-79C
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 668 F.2d 1213 (Rhoades v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rhoades v. United States, 668 F.2d 1213, 229 Ct. Cl. 282, 1982 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 28 (cc 1982).

Opinion

NICHOLS, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

In this case the court is asked to determine how long, if at all, the pay and allowances of an enlisted member of the [283]*283armed forces continue after the expiration date of enlistment, when he is then in confinement, having been convicted and sentenced by court-martial, but that conviction is set aside on appellate review and the member thereafter is retried and reconvicted. His entitlement to pay and allowances up to the date his enlistment expires is unchallenged, and we hold they continue until the date his second court-martial sentence is approved by the convening authority.

I

Plaintiff, Henry Rhoades, enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on September 9, 1967. His 6-year enlistment was to expire on September 8, 1973. On August 2, 1972, however, the military authorities arrested and confined Rhoades for the murder of a fellow Marine. At the time of his arrest and confinement, plaintiff held the rank of Sergeant E-5. A general court-martial on October 28, 1972, convicted Rhoades of unpremediated murder in violation of Article 118 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), 10 U.S.C. § 918. Rhoades was sentenced to 30 years confinement at hard labor, reduction to the pay grade of E-l, and forfeiture of all pay and allowances. Plaintiff also received a dishonorable discharge. The convening authority approved the judgment and sentence on March 29,1973.

Rhoades appealed his conviction, and, on November 12, 1973, the United States Navy Court of Military Review (NCMR) overturned the conviction on the ground that the military trial judge erred in refusing to give a requested instruction on the lesser included offense of involuntary manslaughter. The NCMR authorized a rehearing. During his confinement but before the NCMR action, Rhoades’ 6-year enlistment contract expired on September 8,1973.

At the time his conviction was set aside, Rhoades was serving his sentence at the Naval Disciplinary Command at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He was later returned to Camp LeJeune, North Carolina, to await a rehearing. At that time Rhoades was restored to his previous rank, but remained in confinement.

[284]*284Rhoades was tried again, and, on March 6, 1974, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in violation of Article 119 of the UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 919. Pursuant to court-martial sentence, Rhoades was sentenced to a bad conduct discharge, 5 years’ confinement at hard labor, reduction to the pay grade of E-l, and forfeiture of all pay and allowances. The convening authority approved the judgment and sentence on July 19, 1974. At that time, the convening authority credited Rhoades with time already served from August 2, 1972, until November 12, 1973. On March 18, 1975, the NCMR affirmed the second general court’s-martial decision and further credited Rhoades with time served from November 12, 1973, to March 6, 1974. On February 6, 1976, Rhoades was discharged from the Marine Prisoner Unit, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

In August 1974, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Rhoades was visited by a representative of the United States Marine Corps Finance Center who told Rhoades that he was entitled to all pay and allowances from November 12, 1973, the date his initial conviction was set aside, to July 19, 1974, the date the convening authority approved his second conviction. Previously, Rhoades had received his pay and allowances through September 8, 1973, the date his enlistment contract expired. The representative also said that Rhoades would receive the monies owed him in three installments. Rhoades did, in fact, receive approximately $4,000 which was credited to his inmate account. The Marine Corps Finance Center sought to recoup the alleged overpayment, which it said was made in error. On or about January 13, 1975, a partial recoupment in the amount of $2,100.55 was accomplished. The remainder has not been recovered.

Plaintiffs claim is for pay and allowances allegedly due him from September 8, 1973, the expiration date of his enlistment contract, until July 18, 1974, the day before the convening authority approved his sentence. The United States counterclaims for $1,858.20, the alleged overpayment.

[285]*285II

Plaintiff maintains that he was held for the convenience of the government and is, therefore, entitled, under our prior decisions, to receive pay and allowances. Dickenson v. United States, 163 Ct.Cl. 512 (1963); Cowden v. United States, 220 Ct.Cl. 490, 600 F.2d 1354 (1979). Plaintiff further states that regulations contained in the Department of Defense Military Pay and Allowances Entitlement Manual (DODPM) and cited by defendant as controlling are by their own terms inapposite in the instant case. Finally, plaintiff argues that defendant’s refusal to pay him his pay and allowances after his enlistment contract expired and before a valid court-martial had sentenced him, violates UCMJ Article 57(a), 10 U.S.C. § 857(a), which prohibits retroactive forfeitures. Defendant, on the other hand, contends that Dickenson, supra, and Cowden, supra, are distinguishable. To the defendant’s way of thinking, plaintiff is not entitled to back pay from September 8, 1973, to November 12, 1973, because he was confined pursuant to a court-martial sentence. From November 12, 1973, the day plaintiffs first court-martial conviction was set aside, until July 18, 1974, the day before plaintiffs second court-martial conviction was approved by the convening authority, plaintiff was, defendant continues, confined awaiting court-martial trial. Entitlement to pay and allowances under these circumstances is also prohibited. Moses v. United States, 137 Ct.Cl. 374 (1951).

Moses, supra, represented one of the earliest attempts by this court to grapple with the problem of members’ entitlement to pay when held beyond their enlistment pursuant to a court-martial conviction or pending trial by court-martial. In that case, we held that an enlisted member confined awaiting trial by court-martial at the time his enlistment expires is not entitled to receive pay and allowances unless he is subsequently acquitted. 137 Ct.Cl. at 380. Our decision in that case was based upon a prior decision of the Comptroller General, 30 Comp.Gen. 449 (1951).

We later refined our decision in Moses and held that when a member is retained in the military service for the [286]*286convenience of the government, he is entitled to receive his pay and allowances. Dickenson v. United States, 163 Ct.Cl. at 514. Because the service member’s enlistment in Dicken-son had expired while he was held captive by the North Koreans and before he was confined to await trial by court-martial, our trial judge, whose opinion we adopted, held that the holding of Moses was not applicable. 163 Ct.Cl. at 519.

Defendant relies on DODPM ¶ 10316b(1) and (2) which so far as pertinent it quotes as reading as follows:

b. After Expiration of Term of Service.

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668 F.2d 1213, 229 Ct. Cl. 282, 1982 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 28, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rhoades-v-united-states-cc-1982.