United States v. Aue

37 M.J. 528, 1993 CMR LEXIS 184, 1993 WL 142030
CourtU.S. Army Court of Military Review
DecidedApril 26, 1993
DocketACMR 9002740
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 37 M.J. 528 (United States v. Aue) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering U.S. Army Court of Military Review primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Aue, 37 M.J. 528, 1993 CMR LEXIS 184, 1993 WL 142030 (usarmymilrev 1993).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

De GIULIO, Senior Judge:

Appellant was tried by a military judge sitting as a general court-martial. Contrary to his pleas, he was found guilty of sodomy with a child under the age of sixteen, indecent acts with a child under the age of sixteen, and indecent liberties with a child under the age of sixteen, in violation of Articles 125 and 134, Uniform Code of Military Justice, U.S.C. §§ 925 and 934 (1982) [hereinafter UCMJ]. He was sentenced to a dishonorable discharge, confinement for seven years, total forfeitures, and [529]*529reduction to Private El. The convening authority approved the sentence.

This is the second time this case has been before us. After oral argument on 23 March 1992, this Court returned the ease to the convening authority for a limited hearing pursuant to United States v. DuBay, 17 U.S.C.M.A. 147, 37 C.M.R. 411 (1967). The limited hearing was conducted and the case is again before us for further review under Article 66, UCMJ.

Initially, appellant asserted that the evidence was legally and factually insufficient to support the findings of guilty and the appropriateness of the sentence. He also asserted that the military judge engaged in judicial misconduct by prejudging appellant.

It was this latter assertion which caused this court to return the case for a limited hearing. Appellant now asserts that the findings of guilty and the sentence should be set aside because the actual or perceived misconduct of the military judge rendered the trial fundamentally unfair and violated due process. Appellant now also asserts that the charges were not properly preferred. Accordingly, he contends the charges are unsworn, and must be set aside. We find all of appellant’s assertions of error without merit and affirm.

Sufficiency of the Evidence

The charges of which appellant was found guilty arose from incidents of oral and anal sodomy with his stepson. These acts occurred on diverse occasions over a twenty-two month period. Between 25 December 1989 and 30 January 1990, appellant placed his hands upon the penis of his stepson. These acts took place when appellant was alone with his stepson except for one incident. During that incident, appellant showed his stepson and his stepson’s friend “sex books,” masturbated while looking at the “sex books” in front of the boys, told the boys to take down their pants, and committed oral sodomy upon his stepson while the friend watched. The boys were both twelve years old at the time of the trial. Both boys testified at trial.

Appellant’s defense at trial was that he did not commit the alleged acts. Before us, he contends that both boys lied and their testimony is contradictory and inconsistent. He contends that Mrs. Aue encouraged the allegations against him; but she did not mention the alleged abuse in her divorce complaint and allowed the stepson to spend three weekends with him after she knew of the allegations. Appellant also points to the stepson’s failure to report the alleged abuse to his school counsellor, that there is no showing of trauma to the stepson and that there is no evidence to corroborate the stepson’s testimony. Appellant also maintains he is impotent. In this respect, we note that an expert testified that appellant had a potency weakness but could become sexually aroused and have orgasms.

Without reiterating the sordid details of appellant’s acts, we hold that the evidence, when taken in the light most favorable to the prosecution, is legally sufficient to support the findings of guilty. See Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L. Ed.2d 560 (1979). Using our factfinding powers under Article 66(c), UCMJ, recognizing that the trial court saw and heard the witnesses, we find the evidence factually sufficient to support the findings of guilty. See United States v. Turner, 25 M. J. 324 (C.M.A.1987).

Allegation of Judicial Misconduct •

In a post-trial session conducted under the provisions of Article 39(a), UCMJ, appellant moved for a new trial on the basis of statements made by six noncommissioned officers (NCO). Pour NCOs were witnesses for the defense. One was a guard and the other a spectator at the trial. The essence of their statements was that, during the trial but prior to the presentation of the defense case, the presiding judge’s driver, Specialist (SPC) Lorrane Tillman, told the witnesses that she had talked to the judge, Colonel Pangbum, about the case and that he had already decided the ease.

A post-trial session pursuant to Article 39(a), UCMJ, was conducted to inquire into this matter. Colonel Pangburn presided at this post-trial session. Five of the NCOs [530]*530testified. A stipulation of expected testimony by the sixth NCO was admitted into evidence. This evidence indicated that SPC Tillman had made the above statement while in the witness room during trial.

At the hearing, SPC Tillman denied making any such statement. She stated that she would never talk about a case because she was under a command from the Chief Circuit Judge, Colonel Wayne Iskra, not to talk about cases. She testified that she would never violate that command.

At the post-trial hearing, the military judge announced that prior to the trial he had no information about the case, other than the bare charges. On the way to the trial, he discovered that the driver SPC Tillman was trying to obtain some sort of driving certificate based upon accumulated mileage, had recently returned from a trial with another judge, and had not had much sleep. Colonel Pangburn had given her permission to nap in the judge’s chambers. He spent most of his time in trial and little time “in chambers” on that day. He announced that he did not form or express any opinion concerning the guilt or innocence of appellant prior to his deliberations. During the trial, he went into chambers and SPC Tillman indicated she had been in the witness room. Upon being asked, she denied talking to witnesses. At the local officer’s club, where the military judge had lunch with his driver, SPC Tillman asked a general question about the case. He told her that he would not discuss anything regarding the case.

At the post-trial 39(a) session, the military judge announced that he would treat the defense motion as a motion for a mistrial. He refused to make special findings and denied the motion.

After hearing oral argument in this case, this court ordered a limited hearing pursuant to DuBay to insure we had all the facts necessary to determine the issue. A different judge was detailed to conduct the hearing. At the DuBay, the witnesses’ testimony, presented in person or by stipulation, was essentially the same as presented at the previous post-trial session.1

Colonel Pangburn, the military judge who presided at appellant’s trial, testified. He testified that prior to the trial he had no knowledge of the case except for the charge sheet and convening orders. He stated that he had formed no opinion except that the charges were serious. During the trial, he had lunch with his enlisted driver at the officer’s club. He explained that he had lunch with his driver and the court reporter on occasion. SPC Tillman had been his assigned driver and clerk for about eighteen months. Her office was just across the hall from his office. They talked frequently concerning professional and personal matters.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
37 M.J. 528, 1993 CMR LEXIS 184, 1993 WL 142030, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-aue-usarmymilrev-1993.