United States v. Carr

37 M.J. 987, 1993 CMR LEXIS 350, 1993 WL 309159
CourtU.S. Army Court of Military Review
DecidedAugust 11, 1993
DocketACMR 9202274
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 37 M.J. 987 (United States v. Carr) 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. Carr, 37 M.J. 987, 1993 CMR LEXIS 350, 1993 WL 309159 (usarmymilrev 1993).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

PLACKE, Judge:1

Pursuant to his pleas, the appellant was convicted of two specifications of absence without leave (AWOL), two specifications of failure to repair, one specification each of wrongful use of cocaine, and dishonorably failing to maintain sufficient funds in a bank checking account in violation of Articles 86,112a, and 134, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. §§ 886, 912a, and 934 (1988) [hereinafter UCMJ]. He was sentenced by a military judge sitting as a general court-martial to a bad-conduct discharge, confinement for twelve months, forfeiture of $750.00 pay per month for twelve months, and reduction to Private El. The convening authority approved the sentence.

The appellant, a sergeant, was returned to military control from an AWOL on 9 August 1992. He was assigned to the Personnel Control Facility (PCF) unit at Fort Ord, California, on 11 August 1992. Prior to his assignment to the PCF unit, he was assigned to B Battery, 2d Battalion, 62d Air Defense Artillery located at Fort Ord, California. The appellant asserted at trial that he was subjected to illegal pretrial punishment and sought additional credit against any sentence to confinement. The military judge found that the government’s practice of altering pretrial soldiers’ uniforms and not allowing them to wear insignia of rank was improper, but not done in bad faith, and denied the motion for appropriate relief.

The evidence of record reflects that all individuals who are assigned to the Processing Unit of the PCF at Fort Ord are issued uniforms. These uniforms do not have any army insignia, insignia of rank, or nametag. A Class A type nametag is given to each soldier and he is required to put his name on it with an embossing gun. All soldiers assigned to the Processing Unit, regardless of rank or military occupational specialty, are required to work in a group performing such tasks as cutting grass, buffing and stripping floors, loading furniture, working in the Public Affairs Office, scraping paint, picking up trash, and working in the Army Community Service Swap Shop. The details were under the supervision of a noncommissioned officer escort in most instances. All of the tasks performed by the members of the processing unit were performed in the “PCF uniform” in [989]*989full view of the military community at Fort Ord. The members of the processing unit were marched approximately one mile in the “PCF uniform” to the messhall. It was apparent to other military personnel on Fort Ord that the soldiers in the “PCF uniforms” were pending disciplinary action or were prisoners. None of the members of the processing unit, however, had been convicted of a crime. Soldiers in the Fort Ord military community called the appellant a “convict” or “criminal” and ridiculed him whenever he marched to the messhall or other places with the PCF group.

At the outset, we observe that Article 13, UCMJ, strictly prohibits punishment of a soldier prior to trial. This codal provision provides:

No person, while being held for trial, may be subjected to punishment or penalty other than arrest or confinement upon the charges pending against him, nor shall the arrest or confinement imposed upon him be any more rigorous than the circumstances require to insure his presence, but he may be subjected to minor punishment during that period for infractions of discipline.

UCMJ, art. 13.

In determining whether the treatment afforded appellant was a punishment or penalty for the purposes of this provision, we must examine the jurisprudence.

In United States v. Cruz, 25 M.J. 326 (C.M.A.1987), the battalion commanders held a mass formation wherein all soldiers suspected of drug abuse were called before the formation, their distinctive unit insignia (crests) were removed from their uniforms and they were marched to an adjacent site where they were individually searched and handcuffed in full view of the soldiers remaining in formation. They were called “bastards” and “criminals” by the brigade commander. The Court of Military Appeals had no difficulty finding that the treatment constituted punishment within the prohibition of Article 13, UCMJ. In that opinion, the court relied, to a great extent, on military experience finding that a historic type of military punishment of a soldier was the discharge with ignominy which included “having their clothing stripped of all military insignia, or after being tarred and feathered, or with their heads shaved or half-shaved, or with straw halters around their necks or bearing placards inscribed with the names of their offenses.” See Winthrop, Military Law and Precedents, 434 (2d ed. 1920 Reprint).

The court in United States v. James, 28 M.J. 214 (C.M.A.1989) found that the accused’s confinement in a civilian jail was subject to the same scrutiny as confinement in a facility operated by the military. The conditions under which the accused was held included the requirement that he wear an orange jumpsuit, as did civilian prisoners, instead of his uniform and assist with the daily cleaning of his cell. The court found that no violation of Article 13, UCMJ, occurred and the conditions existing in the facility were related to the orderly operation of the facility and no more stringent or rigorous than to insure the presence of the accused for trial. See also United States v. Walker, 27 M.J. 878 (A.C.M.R.1989); United States v. Daniels, 23 M.J. 867 (A.C.M.R.1987).

The Court of Military Appeals has expressed the precept that the treatment or condition of a pretrial confinee must either be intended as punishment or amount to punishment before it becomes violative of a statute. In United States v. Palmiter, 20 M.J. 90, 94 (C.M.A.1985), the accused was confined with sentenced prisoners. In finding that there was no violation of Article 13, UCMJ, the court adopted the following analysis from the United States Supreme Court:

In the absence of a showing of intent to punish, a court must look to see if a particular restriction or condition, which may on its face appear to be punishment, is instead but an incident of a legitimate nonpunitive governmental objective.

Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 529 at 539, 99 S.Ct. 1861 at 1874, 60 L.Ed.2d 447 (1979).

The Palmiter court distinguished the facts in that case from United States v. Pringle, 19 U.S.C.M.A. 324, 41 C.M.R. 324 [990]*990(1970) and United States v. Nelson, 18 U.S.C.M.A. 177, 39 C.M.R. 177 (1969) since the accused did not serve on details with those performing “hard labor.”

In United States v. Herrin, 32 M.J. 983 (A.C.M.R.1991), the accused, a sergeant, was required to work in immediate association with lower ranking convicted prisoners and to perform work inconsistent with his status as a noncommissioned officer. He was required to cut firewood, move and fill sandbags, and other menial work such as general cleaning.

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45 M.J. 672 (Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals, 1996)
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Bluebook (online)
37 M.J. 987, 1993 CMR LEXIS 350, 1993 WL 309159, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-carr-usarmymilrev-1993.