United States v. Avila

27 M.J. 62, 1988 CMA LEXIS 2972, 1988 WL 99173
CourtUnited States Court of Military Appeals
DecidedSeptember 29, 1988
DocketNo. 57,512; ACM 25577
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 27 M.J. 62 (United States v. Avila) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Military Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Avila, 27 M.J. 62, 1988 CMA LEXIS 2972, 1988 WL 99173 (cma 1988).

Opinions

[63]*63 Opinion of the Court

COX, Judge:

The accused was tried by a general court-martial convened by the Commander, Twenty-Second Air Force (MAC), Travis Air Force Base, California. Court hearings were held on May 6-9, 1986, at McChord Air Force Base, Washington. Contrary to his pleas, the accused was convicted of committing sodomy with a female under the age of 16, in violation of Article 125, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 USC § 925.1

On March 3, 1987, the Court of Military Review, sitting en banc, set aside the findings and sentence, and dismissed the charges. The majority of that court concluded that the court-martial lacked “subject matter jurisdiction over the alleged offenses and that the military judge erred in denying ... [the accused’s] motion to dismiss.” 24 M.J. 501, 503.

Pursuant to Article 67(b)(2), UCMJ, 10 USC § 867(b)(2), the Acting Judge Advocate General of the Air Force certified the following issue for our review:

WHETHER THE AIR FORCE COURT OF MILITARY REVIEW ERRED AS A MATTER OF LAW IN DETERMINING THAT THE ACCUSED’S SODOMY WITH HIS DEPENDENT STEPDAUGHTER IN THEIR OFF-BASE QUARTERS LACKED SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE MILITARY AND WAS THEREFORE NOT SERVICE-CONNECTED.

In addition, we granted the cross-petition which asked that we determine:

WHETHER THE MILITARY JUDGE ERRED BY ADMITTING DR. MAYERS’ HEARSAY TESTIMONY ABOUT THE ALLEGED VICTIM’S STATEMENTS AS STATEMENTS FOR MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS OR TREATMENT UNDER M.R.E. 803(4).

Finally, we specified a third issue for review, as follows:

WHETHER SOLORIO v. UNITED STATES, [483 U.S. 435,] 107 S.CT. 2924 [97 L.Ed.2d 364] (1987), SHOULD BE APPLIED RETROACTIVELY IN THIS CASE.

In view of our resolution of the specified issue, it is unnecessary for us to answer the certified issue. We conclude that the court-martial properly exercised jurisdiction over the accused by virtue of his military status. Further, we answer the granted issue in the affirmative and leave it to the Court of Military Review to determine whether the accused was prejudiced by admission of the hearsay evidence.2

This trial occurred after this Court rendered its decision in United States v. Solorio, 21 M.J. 251 (C.M.A.1986), that the court-martial did, indeed, have subject-matter jurisdiction over a number of off-base sex offenses against children. Our decision that service-connection did exist

was based on various factors, including the continuing effect on the victims and their families and ultimately on the morale of any military unit or organization to which the family member is assigned.

Id. at 256. Unlike the instant case, Solorio’s victims were all military dependents of other service personnel. Service-connection was a jurisdictional predicate established by O’Callahan v. Parker, 395 U.S. 258, 89 S.Ct. 1683, 23 L.Ed.2d 291 (1969), as clarified by Relford v. Commandant, 401 U.S. 355, 91 S.Ct. 649, 28 L.Ed.2d 102 (1971).

In light of this Court’s opinion in Solorio, the military judge below ruled that the offense was service-connected. The Court of Military Review disagreed.3

[64]*64On June 25, 1987 — almost 4 months after the Court of Military Review rendered its opinion — the United States Supreme Court overruled O’Callahan v. Parker, supra, and “abandoned” the requirement of service-connection. Solorio v. United States, 483 U.S. 435, 107 S.Ct. 2924, 2927, 97 L.Ed.2d 364 (1987). As before O’Callahan, court-martial jurisdiction now depends only on whether “a court-martial is convened to try a serviceman who was a member of the armed services at the time of the offense charged.” 107 S.Ct. at 2933 (footnote omitted).

For offenses occurring after June 25, 1987, it is clear that military status alone is the operative test. The question we now decide is whether this same test applies to offenses committed before that date. We hold that it does.

Obviously, conduct that was legal at the time it occurred could not be made criminal retroactively, either by the legislature or the courts. As the Supreme Court has stated:

The Ex Post Facto Clause is a limitation upon the powers of the Legislature, see Calder v. Bull, 3 Dall. 386 [1 L.Ed. 648] (1798), and does not of its own force apply to the Judicial Branch of government. Frank v. Mangum, 237 U.S. 309, 344 [35 S.Ct. 582, 594, 59 L.Ed. 969] (1915). But the principle on which the Clause is based — the notion that persons have a right to fair warning of that conduct which will give rise to criminal penalties — is fundamental to our concept of constitutional liberty. See United States v. Harriss, 347 U.S. 612, 617 [74 S.Ct. 808, 81, 98 L.Ed. 989] (1954); Lanzetta v. New Jersey, 306 U.S. 451, 453 [59 S.Ct. 618, 619, 83 L.Ed. 888] (1939). As such, that right is protected against judicial action by the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

Marks v. United States, 430 U.S. 188, 191—92, 97 S.Ct. 990, 992-93, 51 L.Ed.2d 260 (1977). Cf. Bouie v. City of Columbia, 378 U.S. 347, 353-54, 84 S.Ct. 1697, 1702, 12 L.Ed.2d 894 (1964), which states:

If a state legislature is barred by the Ex Post Facto Clause from passing such a law, it must follow that a State Supreme Court is barred by the Due Process Clause from achieving precisely the same result by judicial construction.

There is no question here, however, of conduct being made criminal that was lawful at the time of occurrence. Committing sodomy on a minor was a crime under the laws of the State of Washington (styled as statutory rape in the first degree), Wash. Rev.Code Ann. § 9A.44.070, as defined in § 9A.44.010, as well as under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Thus, the accused had ample warning that his conduct was criminal; he can claim “no legitimate reliance interest.” See United States v. Ross, 456 U.S. 798, 824 and n. 33, 102 S.Ct. 2157, 2172-73 and n. 33, 72 L.Ed.2d 572 (1982).

Until recently, retroactivity questions have been resolved largely under one of two approaches. Under the first approach, the following were deemed to be ex post facto laws:

1st. Every law that makes an action done before the passing of the law; and which was innocent when done, criminal; and punishes such action. 2d.

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Bluebook (online)
27 M.J. 62, 1988 CMA LEXIS 2972, 1988 WL 99173, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-avila-cma-1988.