United States v. Allen

53 M.J. 402, 2000 CAAF LEXIS 921, 2000 WL 1228695
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Armed Forces
DecidedAugust 30, 2000
Docket99-0788/A
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 53 M.J. 402 (United States v. Allen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Allen, 53 M.J. 402, 2000 CAAF LEXIS 921, 2000 WL 1228695 (Ark. 2000).

Opinions

Senior Judge COX

delivered the opinion of the Court.

Contrary to his pleas, appellant was convicted by officer members of anal sodomy, assault consummated by a battery, two specifications of conduct unbecoming an officer, [404]*404transporting and receiving child pornography-in interstate commerce, and soliciting his wife to commit prostitution, in violation of Articles 125,128,133, and 134, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 USC §§ 925, 928, 933, and 934, respectively. The convening authority approved the sentence of a dismissal, 7 years’ confinement, and total forfeitures. The Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the findings and sentence.

We granted review of the following issues:

I.
WHETHER THE MILITARY JUDGE COMMITTED PREJUDICIAL ERROR IN DENYING THE DEFENSE MOTION TO SUPPRESS.
II.
WHETHER APPELLANT’S CONVICTION FOR SODOMY, A PRIVATE CONSENSUAL ACT BETWEEN APPELLANT AND HIS WIFE, MUST BE SET ASIDE AND DISMISSED SINCE IT IS A VIOLATION OF APPELLANT’S CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO PRIVACY.

FACTS

1. Issue I

On July 31, 1996, a government network technician became concerned that files passing through the network firewall onto a government computer might contain attached graphic images of pornography. When the technician examined a portion of one image, he concluded it involved child pornography. He reported the incident to his supervisor who in turn reported it to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI or OSI). The internet service provider was “Super Zippo.”

The OSI investigation revealed that the computer to which the graphic image was being sent was located in an area in which four people worked, although the area was accessible to others. The investigation excluded three of the four people working in the area as capable of having received the graphic image, largely because those three persons were not present in the area at the time. The remaining individual, appellant, admitted he had been using the computer in question for a period of about 15 to 20 minutes that day. He also admitted .that “Super Zippo” was his Internet Access Provider (IAP),1 and that he possessed “erotica” at home. When asked if this included child pornography, appellant stammered, then asked what the agents meant by child.

Because appellant’s private residence was off-post, OSI agents went to El Paso County law enforcement to have them obtain a search warrant. The El Paso County officer prepared an affidavit, went to a civilian judge, and obtained a state search warrant to search appellant’s home for child pornography, for documents pertaining to appellant’s “Super Zippo” account, and to identify persons controlling the premises. OSI agents accompanied the El Paso County officer to appellant’s home. Numerous photos, computers, and computer discs were seized pursuant to the warrant.

The warrant in the case sub judice authorized only a search of appellant’s residence. The information concerning appellant’s IAP account was obtained by an OSI agent, through a telephone conversation with the manager of “Super Zippo,” appellant’s IAP provider. Athough the OSI agent did not possess a warrant when he requested appellant’s account information from “Super Zippo,” he “specifically asked whether a search warrant or a subpoena [was] required.” After consulting with corporate counsel, the manager of “Super Zippo” called the agent and indicated that based upon advice from counsel, all that would be needed to release the records was a “lawyer request.” The [405]*405agent testified that he relied on the manager’s assertion that no warrant was required.

The OSI agent testified that he requested information pertaining to appellant’s online account and “any records of access to the online service that would indicate different areas that [appellant] traveled to.” The information received was a multiple page listing of online services accessed by appellant through his “Super Zippo” account, and did not contain the text of or reveal the content of any communications received or sent.

Appellant makes a multi-faceted attack upon the conduct of law enforcement officials and the search warrant. Those contentions are:

1. The search warrant violated Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure (FRCP) 41, and Air Force Office of Special Investigation (AFOSI) regulations.
2. The search warrant violated the Posse Comitatus Act.
3. The search warrant was a general warrant and not based upon probable cause.
4. The search warrant was obtained as a result of false statements to the state court magistrate judge.
5. The warrantless search of appellant’s internet account with “Super Zippo” violated the Fourth Amendment and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

After hearing evidence on a motion to suppress the evidence seized from appellant’s home and from “Super Zippo,” the military judge denied the motion. He ruled that: (1) the affidavit was not knowingly and intentionally false or made with reckless disregard for the truth; (2) there was probable cause to issue the warrant; (3) the search warrant was not overbroad or too general; (4) the search did not exceed the scope of the search warrant; (5) there was no expectation of privacy in the type of information provided by “Super Zippo” and it would have been inevitably discovered; (6) the “Super Zippo” information was not “fruit of the poisonous tree”; and (7) violations of Air Force Regulations concerning coordination with a United States Attorney were not “fatal to this particular search.” The military judge also attached written findings to the record.

2. Issue II

The second issue asks us to consider whether anal intercourse between a husband and- a wife is constitutionally protected conduct. The facts, as described by two judges of the court below, 1999 WL 305093, who formed a majority on this issue, are as follows:

The appellant was convicted of assaulting his former wife by grabbing her throat, choking her, and banging her head on the floor. He was also convicted of soliciting her to commit prostitution. According to the appellant’s former wife, he told her to prostitute herself because they could use the money she received to pay family bills and that having sex with other men would improve their sexual relationship. She testified that during their marriage prior to the assaults and the prostitution, she refused appellant’s requests to engage in this sexual act because she had been forcibly and painfully sodomized while a teenager. Her revulsion and fear of this sexual act was underscored by her testimony that she refused to allow any of the men who paid to have sex with her to perform this sexual act on her. Obviously, after being assaulted and encouraged to have sex with other men by her husband, she had less bargaining power with him than she had with total strangers. Due to the pain she experienced whenever the appellant performed this sexual act, on one occasion she did allow him to videotape in exchange for his promise to stop subjecting her to this violation.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
53 M.J. 402, 2000 CAAF LEXIS 921, 2000 WL 1228695, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-allen-armfor-2000.