United States v. Coronado

11 M.J. 522
U S Air Force Court of Military Review·Decided April 3, 1981·No. ACM 22665·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinions

DECISION

ARROWOOD, Senior Judge:

In trial by general court-martial the accused was convicted, contrary to his pleas, of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman by performing acts of sodomy on an enlisted man, a violation of Article 133, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. § 933. He was sentenced to dismissal from the service.

The accused asserts that the military lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the offense since it occurred off the military installation. After careful analysis of all the facts, we weigh the military interest against that of the civilian community and conclude that jurisdiction was properly exercised.

Specialist Fourth Class Heaton, a nineteen year old cook and paratrooper stationed with the 82nd Airborn Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, was hitchhiking from his girl friend’s home to his barracks. He was picked up by the accused at approximately 2100 hours. The accused told him he was going to Pope Air Force Base and would drop him off at Fort Bragg on the way. He then asked Heaton if he would mind going by the accused’s apartment to feed his dog. Heaton agreed. They reached the apartment around 2200 hours, fed the dog and had a few drinks.

Because of the “nice things” in the apartment, Heaton questioned the accused as to his rank. When the accused told Heaton he was a Captain in the Air Force, Heaton began to call him “sir”, but accused requested that he call him Bob. Before midnight they left the apartment and returned with more dog food. After several more drinks and a dice game, they again left the apartment and went to a “gay” bar. The bar was suggested by the accused, and Heaton did not know it was “gay” until he went inside and saw men dancing together. After dancing, Heaton became ill, so he and the accused left the club and returned to the apartment. In an effort to overcome his illness and sober up, Heaton took a shower.

Heaton claims that accused then forced him to commit homosexual acts. He was unable to ward off the accused’s advances because he was drunk.* After the acts they both slept. They awoke at 0600 hours, dressed, and the accused drove Heaton back to his barracks. He arrived at the barracks too late to meet his scheduled duty formation. When questioned about his tardiness, he told of the incident and was taken to civilian authorities where he made a complaint against the accused.

The local district attorney testified that he had intended to prosecute the accused for forcible sodomy under North Carolina law, but when Heaton did not appear to testify on several occasions, he discussed the case with the investigating officers and finding they had doubts as to the validity of Heaton’s story, he dismissed the charges. [524] It was his policy to prosecute forcible sodomy in that jurisdiction, but even though consensual sodomy was in violation of statute, he normally did not prosecute that offense due to the heavy work load.

The accused’s written statement in support of his earlier request for administrative discharge was admitted into evidence. It set out examples of the lack of respect that had been shown him and detailed his ineffectiveness as an officer which had resulted when fellow members of the military learned of his misconduct.

In O’Callahan v. Parker, 395 U.S. 258, 89 S.Ct. 1683, 23 L.Ed.2d 291 (1969), the Supreme Court required there be a “service connection” established before the military was permitted to exercise court-martial jurisdiction over its members. Later in Relford v. Commandant, 401 U.S. 355, 91 S.Ct. 649, 28 L.Ed.2d 102 (1971), the Court emphasized that an ad hoc approach to each case was necessary when court-martial jurisdiction was challenged and listed twelve factors (Relford factors) which would be considered in resolving the issue. In Schlesinger v. Councilman, 420 U.S. 738, 760, 95 S.Ct. 1300, 1314, 43 L.Ed.2d 591 (1975), the Court stated that:

[The issue of service connection] turns in a major part on gauging the impact of an offense on military discipline, and effectiveness, on determining whether the military interest in deterring the offense is distinct from and greater than that of civilian society, and on whether the distinct military interest can be vindicated adequately in civilian courts. These are matters of judgment that often will turn on the precise set of facts in which the offenses have occurred.

The Court of Military Appeals made it clear in United States v. Moore, 1 M.J. 448 (C.M.A.1976), that a “detailed, thorough analysis” of all the jurisdictional criteria and the weighing of the military’s interest against that of the civilian society as enunciated in Relford and Councilman is necessary to resolve the service connection issue in all cases tried by court-martial. United States v. Trottier, 9 M.J. 337 (C.M.A.1980); United States v. Alef, 3 M.J. 414 (C.M.A. 1977); United States v. Hedlund, 3 M.J. 162 (C.M.A.1976); United States v. McCarthy, 2 M.J. 26 (C.M.A.1976).

Applying the twelve Relford factors in analysis of the facts in this case we find:

1. The accused was properly absent from the base. In this instance he took his rank, prestige and authority with him when he departed the installation. This was especially true in his relationship with other service members.

2. The crime was committed away from the base, but at the accused’s quarters.

3. The crime was committed at a place not under military control.

4. The crime was not committed in an occupied zone or foreign country.

5. Drawing a line between hostilities and peacetime is not meaningful in defining the permissible extent of the war powers. See United States v. Trottier, supra. The offense in question has a definite effect on the unit’s moral, efficiency and readiness to perform its military mission. The offense has resulted in the reputation and integrity of one of its officers being questioned and his ability to lead being impaired.

6. The commission of the offense adversely affected the accused’s ability to perform his assigned duties as an officer. It resulted in total ineffectiveness and then removal from his assigned duties. His continuous obligation and duty to uphold the responsibilities as an officer were also breached. That breach occurred in the presence of an enlisted man who was in awe of the accused’s rank and the possessions that the rank provided him. In both instances the act had an enormous impact on his personal standing as an officer and his ability to carry out his duties.

7. The victim’s duty performance was also affected. The accused was aware that the victim was scheduled for duty the following morning. As a result of the offense, the victim was rendered unable to perform his scheduled duty, thus rendering him nonproductive to the United States Army.

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United States v. Coronado, 11 M.J. 522 (usafctmilrev 1981).

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