United States v. Allgood

41 M.J. 492, 1995 CAAF LEXIS 56, 1995 WL 152182
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Armed Forces
DecidedApril 7, 1995
DocketNo. 93-5022; CMR No. 9202302
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 41 M.J. 492 (United States v. Allgood) 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. Allgood, 41 M.J. 492, 1995 CAAF LEXIS 56, 1995 WL 152182 (Ark. 1995).

Opinions

Opinion of the Court

SULLIVAN, Chief Judge:

1. On November 4,1992, the accused was tried by a general court-martial military judge sitting alone at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Pursuant to his pleas, he was found guilty of attempted carnal knowledge, absence without leave (2 specifications — 159 days and 3 days), and sodomy, in violation of Articles 80, 86, and 125, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 USC § 880, 886, and 925, respectively. The military judge sentenced him to a bad-conduct discharge, confinement for 11 months, total forfeitures, and reduction to E-l. Due to a pretrial agreement and clemency, the convening authority suspended for 1 year from the date of trial all confinement in excess of 77 days but approved the remainder of the sentence. On July 15, 1993, the Court of Military Review1 set aside the findings of guilty and the sentence and authorized an “other trial.” 37 MJ 960, 963.

2. The Acting Judge Advocate General of the Army forwarded this case to our Court for review in accordance with Article 67(a)(2), UCMJ, 10 USC § 867(a)(2)(1989), on the following issues:

I
WHETHER THE ARMY COURT OF MILITARY REVIEW ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW WHEN IT RULED THAT A COMMANDER’S AUTHORITY TO CONVENE GENERAL COÚRTSMARTIAL IS TERMINATED WHEN THE COMMANDER’S UNIT IS RE-DESIGNATED.
II
WHETHER THE ARMY COURT OF MILITARY REVIEW ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW WHEN IT CONCLUDED THAT MAJOR GENERAL HERRLING WAS NOT A PREDECESSOR IN COMMAND OF COLONEL WARNER’S REDESIGNATED UNIT.

We hold that both RCM 601(b), Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, 1984, and Article 25(d)(2), UCMJ, 10 USC § 825(d)(2), were complied with in this case, and, accordingly, this court-martial had jurisdiction to try the accused’s offenses. See generally United States v. Jette, 25 MJ 16 (CMA 1987).

3. The court below made the following pertinent findings of fact:

On 19 January 1981, the Secretary of the Army, pursuant to Article 22(a)(8)[2] UCMJ, designated the Commander, United States Army Training Center and Fort Dix, a general court-martial convening authority. Colonel (COL) Michael Warner assumed command of the United States Army Training Center and Fort Dix from Major General (MG) Herrling on 3 September 1992. On 1 October 1992, the Training Center was redesignated as United States Army Garrison, Fort Dix.
Colonel Warner remained in command of United States Army Garrison, Fort Dix. On 23 October 1992, the Secretary of the Army, pursuant to Article 22(a)(8), UCMJ, designated the Commander, United States Army Garrison, Fort Dix, a general court-martial convening authority. On 30 October 1992, COL Warner, in his capacity as Commander, United States Army Garrison, Fort Dix, referred the appellant’s case to a general court-martial. In so doing, the charges were referred to the court-martial with panel members selected by MG Herrling and convened by Court-Martial Convening Order Number 1, dated 23 January 1992, United States Army Train[494]*494ing Center and Fort Dix [hereinafter CMCO 1], On 11 December 1992, COL Warner issued a Memorandum for Record, noting that prior to referring the appellant’s case pursuant to CMCO 1, he adopted the panel selections of his “predecessor,” MG Herrling.

37 MJ at 961.

Introduction

4. The Court of Military Review held that the accused’s court-martial did not have jurisdiction to try him because it was improperly convened. Id. at 962. See generally McClaughry v. Deming, 186 U.S. 49, 62, 22 S.Ct. 786, 791, 46 L.Ed. 1049 (1902). That court reached this conclusion for two reasons. First, it held that this court-martial was convened by Commander, Army Training Center and Fort Dix (MG Herrling), who had lost his power to convene or create courts-martial at the time of referral and who was not a predecessor in command to the actual convening authority in this case, Commander, United States Army Garrison, Fort Dix (COL Warner). See United States v. Cases, 6 MJ 950, 952 (ACMR 1979). Second, it held that the actual convening authority (COL Warner) in this case “did not personally select the members” of this court-martial as required by Article 25(d)(2). 37 MJ at 962. In sum, the court below held that RCM 601(b) did not and could not lawfully permit his court-martial to be convened as was done in this ease. See also RCM 103(6).

5. The Acting Judge Advocate General of the Army has questioned the above holdings of the Court of Military Review. Government appellate counsel, in their brief supporting this certified issue, suggest that the court below erred when it held that this court-martial was convened by a court-martial authority (Commander, Army Training Center and Fort Dix) whose power to convene courts-martial had been “terminated.” 37 MJ at 962. Second, they suggest that the court below erred in holding that MG Herr-ling was not a predecessor in command to COL Warner for purposes of RCM 601(b). 37 MJ at 962. See also RCM 103(6). We hold that the Court of Military Review erred in its conclusions noted above but for reasons somewhat different from those suggested by government appellate counsel.

I

6. Our starting point in resolving the certified questions is the Uniform Code of Military Justice, in particular, Article 22(a)(8), UCMJ, 10 USC § 822(a)(8), which provides:

§ 822. Art. 22. Who may convene general courts-martial
(a) General courts-martial may be convened by—
(8) any other commanding officer designated by the Secretary concerned[.]

We also note that no other provision of the Uniform Code of Military Justice expressly provides how a court-martial should or must be convened. However, Article 36, UCMJ, 10 USC § 836, states:

§ 836. Art. 36. President may prescribe rules
(a) Pretrial, trial, and post-trial procedures, including modes of proof, for eases arising under this chapter triable in courts-martial, military commissions and other military tribunals, and procedures for courts of inquiry, may be prescribed by the President by regulations which shall, so far as he considers practicable, apply the principles of law and the rules of evidence generally recognized in the trial of criminal cases in the United States district courts, but which may not be contrary to or inconsistent with this chapter.

(Emphasis added.) In this light, we further note that the President has clearly delineated how a court-martial should be convened in the Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, 1984.

7. RCM 504(a) provides: “In general. A court-martial is created by a convening order of the convening authority.” RCM 504(d) further provides:

(d) Convening orders.
(1) General and special courts-martial. A convening order for a general or special court-martial shall designate the type of [495]*495court-martial and detail the members and may designate where the court-martial will meet.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
41 M.J. 492, 1995 CAAF LEXIS 56, 1995 WL 152182, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-allgood-armfor-1995.