United States v. Baughman

8 M.J. 545, 1979 CMR LEXIS 576
CourtU S Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals
DecidedOctober 3, 1979
DocketCGCMS 23467; Docket No. 820
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 8 M.J. 545 (United States v. Baughman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering U S Coast Guard Court of Criminal 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. Baughman, 8 M.J. 545, 1979 CMR LEXIS 576 (uscgcoca 1979).

Opinion

[546]*546OPINION

MORGAN, Chief Judge:

Seaman Recruit James L. Baughman, Jr., U.S. Coast Guard, was tried by a special court-martial convened by the Commanding Officer, USCGC IRIS (WLB-395) at Seattle, Washington on 29 November 1978. The accused requested trial by judge alone and was convicted contrary to his not guilty plea of a single charge and specification alleging unauthorized absence from IRIS from 7 September 1978 until 10 October 1978 in violation of Article 86, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. § 886. The military judge received evidence of seven punishments of the accused by his commanding officer pursuant to Article 15, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 815, evidence of one prior conviction of the accused by special court-martial and evidence of a prior conviction of the accused in a United States District Court. The judge sentenced the accused to be confined at hard labor for 90 days and to be discharged from the service with a bad conduct discharge. This sentence was approved by the convening authority and by the officer exercising general court-martial jurisdiction. Appellate defense counsel has alleged several errors only two of which warrant discussion.

The prosecution introduced evidence establishing the inception of the accused’s unauthorized absence on 7 September 1978 and its termination 10 October 1978, as alleged in the specification. Seaman Recruit Baughman then took the witness stand in his own behalf in an effort to show that his period of unauthorized absence actually terminated 14 September 1978. He testified that he was on emergency leave at his home in Indianapolis, Indiana during the latter part of July and the greater part of August while his father was convalescing from a heart attack and open heart surgery at a hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He stated that he was again on emergency leave in Indianapolis for the same reason from about 1 September until 7 September 1978. On the day his emergency leave expired, 7 September 1978, he called the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter IRIS from Fort Wayne and talked with the executive officer, Lieutenant Horan. Lieutenant Horan did not authorize an extension of emergency leave but told Seaman Recruit Baughman that he would have to report to the nearest Coast Guard unit. The accused knew that there was a Coast Guard Recruiting Office at Indianapolis since he had enlisted there. According to Seaman Recruit Baughman’s testimony he went to the Coast Guard Recruiting Office at Indianapolis between 7 and 14 September and made several calls there but no one was at the office and his calls were never answered. Finally on 14 September 1978 he called the Coast Guard Recruiting Office at Cincinnati, Ohio. He told the person with whom he talked that he was AWOL, that his father remained ill and that he needed to report to someone. He was told that the recruiter from Indianapolis was in New London, Connecticut for a week or more and that he should contact a Coast Guard warrant officer stationed at Fort Benjamin Harrison. This was about 15 miles from the accused’s home in Indianapolis.

Seaman Recruit Baughman testified that he called the warrant officer 14 September, told him that he was AWOL and asked if he could come and report to him in person. The warrant officer told him that he had nothing for him to do at his office but that he could consider that he had turned himself in as of that day and that he should report to the Coast Guard Recruiting Office, Indianapolis the following Monday, 18 September 1978. According to the accused he did go to the recruiting office at about 0730 the morning of 18 September but when the recruiter had not arrived by about 0810 he left since he had to be at work by 0830.

Chief Warrant Officer Buell stationed at the Defense Information School, Fort Benjamin Harrison corroborated the accused’s testimony concerning the telephone conversation on 14 September 1978 except that Seaman Recruit Baughman told him that he was on emergency leave rather than AWOL and for some reason was to check in with the recruiter. He told the accused [547]*547that he could consider that he had checked in with him even though he did not report in person. Chief Warrant Officer Buell called the recruiter, SKI Smith, at 0830-0900 Monday morning 18 September 1978 and told him of the conversation with Seaman Recruit Baughman and that Baugh-man should be reporting to him sometime that day.

SKI Smith testified that he was in the recruiting office from approximately 0745 to 0805 Monday morning 18 September 1978 before he locked the office for a few minutes while he went to pick up the mail. He believed he returned to the office before 0830. Seaman Recruit Baughman did not approach him about turning himself in but he had talked on the telephone with Baugh-man on 8 September 1978 when Baughman called him saying that he was on emergency leave and needed an extension because of his father being sick. SKI Smith testified that he tried to contact someone at the Thirteenth District about Seaman Recruit Baughman’s situation and believed he did talk with someone but he didn’t recall what information he received. He tried to call the accused back approximately three times at the number he had left but nobody answered the phone. During a telephone conversation 18 September CWO Buell told SKI Smith that Baughman was to report to his office that morning. At that time it was unclear whether Seaman Recruit Baughman was AWOL, on emergency leave or a humanitarian type transfer.

Appellate defense counsel urges as was contended at trial that Seaman Recruit Baughman’s unauthorized absence terminated 14 September 1978 when he offered to report in person to Chief Warrant Officer Buell but was told that he could consider that he had checked in and that he should report to the Coast Guard Recruiter the following Monday morning.

In U. S. v. Acemoglu, 21 U.S.C.M.A. 561, 45 C.M.R. 335 (1972) the Court of Military Appeals considered the question of whether Captain Acemoglu had terminated his unauthorized absence in May 1969 when he visited the American Embassy at Ottawa, Canada, informed representatives of the Embassy that he was absent without leave and asked how he could return. He was placed in telephone contact with the military attaché who then and on a subsequent occasion advised Captain Acemoglu that he should submit himself to the military as soon as possible. He finally surrendered at the Embassy in December 1970. The Court found that Captain Acemoglu did not terminate his unauthorized absence by his initial appearance at the Embassy to seek advice or by his telephone conversations with the military attaché. These actions did not constitute a submission to military control but only reflected an inchoate desire to return at a date prior to his ultimate surrender.

In U. S. v. Raymo, 1 M.J. 31 (C.M.A.1975) the accused Army Private testified that while he was on unauthorized absence he received a letter directing him to report to his Selective Service Board. He did so in December 1971. When asked for his discharge papers or anything else relating to his military status he replied that he had none and disclosed that he had been AWOL since 1969. While at the Selective Service Board offices he talked with an Army Captain who directed him to go see the FBI which he did. At the FBI office an agent took the information Private Raymo supplied about his military status and tried to verify it without success.

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Bluebook (online)
8 M.J. 545, 1979 CMR LEXIS 576, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-baughman-uscgcoca-1979.