United States v. Dial

9 C.M.A. 700, 9 USCMA 700, 26 C.M.R. 480, 1958 CMA LEXIS 434, 1958 WL 3406
United States Court of Military Appeals·Decided October 3, 1958·No. No. 11,317·Published·Cited by 19 cases

Opinion

Opinion of the Court

George W. Latimer, Judge:

The accused was convicted by general court-martial at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, of robbery in violation of Article 122, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 USC § 922. He was sentenced to be dishonorably discharged, to forfeit all pay and allowances, and to be confined at hard labor for one year and six months. Intermediate appellate authorities affirmed, and the case is before this Court for review pursuant to the provisions of Article 67(b)(2), Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 USC § 867. The particular questions which The Judge Advocate General of the United States Air Force desires to be answered are these:

(1) Was the board of review correct in holding that the admission into evidence of an oral pretrial statement, made by accused to a Texas civilian policeman, was proper, over objection, under the circumstances of this case?
(2) Was the board of review correct in holding that the admission into evidence of an oral pretrial statement, later made by the accused to an Air Force representative, was proper, over objection, under the circumstances of this case?

The operative facts relevant to the first issue are as follows. At approximately 12:30 a.m. on July 5, 1957, the victim had stopped his car on a street in Galveston, Texas. He was preparing to get out when the accused approached, threatened him with a .45 pistol, and then ordered him to drive to Houston, Texas. Upon arrival in that city, the victim was released and the accused drove away in the vehicle. Shortly thereafter, local police, having been alerted by the victim, apprehended the accused in the stolen car.

One of the apprehending officers testified by deposition that after talking with the victim, he questioned the accused, who was then “sitting in the back of . . . [a] police car, under arrest” for “robbery with arms.” The deposition shows that, prior to being interrogated, the accused was not advised concerning his right to remain silent because the officer was of the opinion he was not required “to advise any accused or suspect of his rights before taking an oral statement.” Defense counsel raised an objection to the officer’s version of the conversation on the basis that the accused was neither advised of his rights nor informed of the offense suspected, and that his statement was not shown to have been freely and voluntarily made. Over this objection, the officer was permitted to testify that:

“ . . . I asked . . . [the accused] in what location he had joined with the complainant we had met earlier on Westheimer. He stated that he first met him in Galveston, did not know the subject before he entered the complainant’s ear, told me that he didn’t know why he did, but he pulled a gun on the driver of the convertible, instructed him to drive him to Houston, and then told him to drive across main street. He stated at this time he did not know what street he was on, and then just finally got tired of the complainant and told him to get out and took his car, at which time he stated he did [703]*703not know in which direction he was going.”

Reception of this statement into evidence forms the basis of the first certified issue. This Court was faced with a somewhat similar situation in United States v Grisham, 4 USCMA 694, 16 CMR 268. In that case, accused, a civilian employee of the Department of the Army, was held for the murder of his wife in France. French authorities undertook an independent investigation, and while in their hands the accused was questioned without being advised of his rights under Article 31, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 USC § 831. Accused at that time made four statements relating to his guilt, all of which were used against him in the subsequent trial. In determining that such statements were admissible despite the absence of an Article 31 warning, we stated:

“ ... if persons not subject to the Code — such as civilian law enforcement authorities — conduct an interrogation or request a statement in furtherance of any military investigation, or in any sense as an instrument of the military, then the duty arises to furnish sound advice concerning the provisions of Article 31. Otherwise they are not required to do so — and their failure will not operate to deprive the court-martial of any statement they may secure.” [Emphasis supplied.]

This language is dispositive of the issue raised herein. Members of the Houston Police Department are not subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and there is nothing in the record to indicate the police officer was acting for the military service. Accordingly, his testimony was not barred by the provisions of Article 31.

.Appellate defense counsel recognize the doctrine announced in Grisham, supra, but argue that it is not controlling in this instance because there the questioned testimony would presumably have been admissible in a French court. Since, they contend, the confession in the instant case would not have been admissible in a Texas Criminal Court under the exclusionary provisions of Article 727, Vernon’s Annotated Code of Criminal Procedure of the State of Texas, 1941, the cases are not on all fours.

We do not find this line of reasoning persuasive, nor need we decide whether the instant confession would, in fact, have been inadmissible in the Texas court. Military courts may convene in all States and foreign countries, and we are not disposed to have military law vary according to the laws of each jurisdiction. Were we to decide evi-dentiary questions of this nature on the basis of State law, an already complex area would soon be chaotic. The Uniform Code of Military Justice expressly provides that, where not otherwise prescribed, the rules of evidence generally recognized in the United States District Courts shall be applied by courts-martial. Article 36(a), Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 USC § 836; see also paragraph 137, Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, 1951. See also 4 Barron and Holtzoff, Federal Practice and Procedure, Rules Edition, § 2151.

The Federal court in Young v United States, 107 F2d 490 (CA5th Cir) (1939), refused to apply Article 727, Texas Code, supra, in the face of a contention similar to that advanced here, stating: “The statute has no application to a criminal case in a federal court. Common law as modified by federal statute controls.” Article 31(b), Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 USC § 831, is the controlling Federal statute in this case and the scope of the pre-interrogation warning there provided is confined by its literal terms and extends only to persons subject to the Code and those acting for and in concert with them. United States v Gibson, 3 USCMA 746, 14 CMR 164; United States v Grisham, supra. This Article can be applied equally in all jurisdictions, and we prefer not to warp its provisions to comply with local law.

The accused’s statement was properly admitted in evidence then, unless obtained “through the use of coercion, unlawful influence, or unlawful induee[704]*704ment.” Article 31(d), supra. Fundamental in this regard is the question whether the accused, at the time of his statement, possessed the mental freedom to confess or to deny participation in the crime. United States v Moore, 4 USCMA 482, 16 CMR 56; United States v Monge, 1 USCMA 95, 2 CMR 1.

The opinion of the board of review on this matter is accurate and concise and we adopt it for the purpose of answering the point involved.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

United States v. Dial, 9 C.M.A. 700, 9 USCMA 700, 26 C.M.R. 480, 1958 CMA LEXIS 434, 1958 WL 3406 (cma 1958).

9 C.M.A. 700 (United States v. Dial) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

United States v. Thompson
31 M.J. 781 (U.S. Army Court of Military Review, 1990)
United States v. Lucas
19 M.J. 773 (U S Air Force Court of Military Review, 1984)
United States v. Annis
5 M.J. 351 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1978)
United States v. Anderson
1 M.J. 688 (U.S. Navy-Marine Corps Court of Military Review, 1975)
United States v. Jourdan
1 M.J. 482 (U S Air Force Court of Military Review, 1975)
United States v. Lake
17 C.M.A. 3 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1967)
United States v. Schlomann
16 C.M.A. 414 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1966)
United States v. D'Arco
16 C.M.A. 213 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1966)
United States v. Cross
14 C.M.A. 660 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1964)
United States v. Murphy
14 C.M.A. 535 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1964)
United States v. King
14 C.M.A. 227 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1963)
United States v. Scoles
14 C.M.A. 14 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1963)
United States v. Plante
13 C.M.A. 266 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1962)
United States v. Marymont
11 C.M.A. 745 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1960)
United States v. Smith
10 C.M.A. 619 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1959)
United States v. Williams
10 C.M.A. 578 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1959)
United States v. Holder
10 C.M.A. 448 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1959)
United States v. Young
10 C.M.A. 249 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1959)