United States v. Castillo

74 M.J. 160, 2015 CAAF LEXIS 453, 2015 WL 2371443
Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces·Decided May 18, 2015·No. 14-0724/NA·Published·Cited by 10 cases

Opinion

Chief Judge BAKER delivered the opinion of the Court.

Contrary to her pleas, a special court-martial composed of officer and enlisted members convicted Appellant of offenses including violating a lawful general order by failing to report her arrest for drunk driving, in violation of Article 92, Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), 10 ■ U.S.C. § 892 (2012). The convening authority approved a sentence including a bad-conduct discharge, a $5,000 fine, and reduction to the lowest enlisted grade. The United States Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) affirmed. United States v. Castillo, No. NMCCA 201300280, slip op. at 16 (N.-M.Ct.Crim.App. May 27, 2014). On Appellant’s petition, we granted review of the following issue:

WHETHER THE LOWER COURT IMPROPERLY DETERMINED THAT [THE] DUTY TO SELF-REPORT ONE’S OWN CRIMINAL ARRESTS FOUND IN OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS INSTRUCTION 3120.32C WAS VALID DESPITE THE INSTRUCTION’S OBVIOUS CONFLICT WITH SUPERIOR AUTHORITY AND THE FIFTH AMENDMENT.

This appeal involves Appellant’s challenge to the Chief of Naval Operations’s regulatory requirement that servicemembers report to their immediate commander the fact that they were arrested for an offense by civilian authorities. Appellant’s attack on the service instruction, Dep’t of the Navy, Chief of Naval Operations Instr. 3120.32C, General Guidance and Regulations para. 510.6 (July 30, 2001) [hereinafter OPNAVINST 3120.32C], is twofold: that it conflicts with superior regulatory authority; and that it facially compels self-incrimination in violation of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

We conclude that the Navy clearly amended its self-reporting regulations in direct response to this Court’s prior decision in United States v. Serianne, 69 M.J. 8 (C.A.A.F.2010), and find Appellant’s first regulatory argument unpersuasive. We further conclude that — while Appellant' advances hypothetical applications of the Navy’s self-reporting requirement that may raise constitutional questions — she does not contend that her ease presents an unconstitutional application of the regulation, and cannot meet her burden for successfully advancing a facial challenge, which requires *162 the challenger to establish that “no set of circumstances exists under which the [regulation] would be valid.” United States v. Wright, 53 M.J. 476, 481 (C.A.A.F.2000) (quoting United States v. Salerno, 481 U.S. 739, 745, 107 S.Ct. 2095, 95 L.Ed.2d 697 (1987)). 1

BACKGROUND

In May 2010, this Court found that a service instruction requiring that sailors report their own arrests by civilian authorities conflicted with superior regulatory authority. Serianne, 69 M.J. at 11. The service instruction at issue in Serianne provided that:

Members arrested for an alcohol-related offense under civil authority, which if punished under the UCMJ would result in a punishment of confinement for 1 year or more, or a punitive discharge or dismissal from the Service (e.g., DUI/DWI), shall promptly notify their CO. Failure to do so may constitute an offense punishable under Article 92, UCMJ.

The appellant in Serianne argued that this self-reporting requirement violated his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. 69 M.J. at 9. We declined to address his constitutional challenge, however, because we resolved the issue in his favor on noncon-stitutional grounds. Id. at 11 (citing Ashwander v. TVA 297 U.S. 288, 346—48, 56 S.Ct. 466, 80 L.Ed. 688 (1936) (Brandéis, J., concurring)). Specifically, we looked to U.S. Naval Regs., Article 1137 (1990), which addressed servicemembers’ obligation to report UCMJ offenses, but specifically exempted offenses in which the servicemember was criminally involved. U.S. Naval Regs., Article 1137, provided:

Persons in the naval service shall report as soon as possible to superior authority all offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice which come under their observation, except when such persons are themselves already criminally involved at the time such offenses first come under their observation.

We concluded that the service instruction at issue in Serianne did not provide the protection against self-reporting established by U.S.-Naval Regs., Article 1137. Thus, the service instruction promulgated by the Chief of Naval Operations was contrary to superior regulatory authority promulgated by the Secretary of the Navy, and did not provide a legal basis with which to' charge Serianne with dereliction of duty under the UCMJ. Serianne, 69 M.J. at 11.

The Navy responded by amending its regulations. 2 In July 2010, the Secretary of the Navy released Dep’t of the Navy, Secretary of the Navy, ALNAV 049/10 (July 21, 2010) [hereinafter ALNAV 049/10], an administrative message disseminated throughout the Navy with the subject line “Change to U.S. Navy Regulations in light of U.S. v. Ser-ianne.” The message stated that the change was “effective immediately,” and in pertinent part, added new language to U.S. Naval Regs., Article 1137, authorizing self-reporting regulations:

The Secretary of the Navy, Chief of Naval Operations, and Commandant of the Marine Corps may promulgate regulations or instructions that require servicemembers to report civilian arrests or filing of criminal charges if those regulations or instructions serve a regulatory or administrative purpose.
ALNAV 049/10.

In December 2011, the Chief of Naval Operations released Dep’t of the Navy, Chief. Naval Officer, NAVADMIN 373/11 (Dec. 8, 2011) [hereinafter NAVADMIN 373/11], which amended OPNAVINST 3120.32C, the service instruction at issue in the case now before the Court. The instruction as amended requires self-reporting of arrests by civilian authorities, and prohibits commanders *163 from taking disciplinary action regarding the underlying offense for which the service-member was arrested, unless that disciplinary action is based on independent evidence:

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United States v. Castillo, 74 M.J. 160, 2015 CAAF LEXIS 453, 2015 WL 2371443 (Ark. 2015).

74 M.J. 160 (United States v. Castillo) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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