United States v. Dupree

25 M.J. 659, 1987 CMR LEXIS 831, 1987 WL 21257
CourtU S Air Force Court of Military Review
DecidedNovember 13, 1987
DocketACM S26894
StatusPublished

This text of 25 M.J. 659 (United States v. Dupree) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering U S Air Force 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. Dupree, 25 M.J. 659, 1987 CMR LEXIS 831, 1987 WL 21257 (usafctmilrev 1987).

Opinion

DECISION UPON FURTHER REVIEW

SESSOMS, Senior Judge:

In August and September 1985 the accused was tried by special court-martial. In accordance with his pleas he was convicted of drinking intoxicating liquors with prisoners under his charge in violation of Article 134, U.C.M.J., 10 U.S.C. § 934. Contrary to his pleas, he was also found guilty of dereliction of duty by failing to prevent and report marijuana use by those same prisoners, in violation of Article 92(3), U.C.M.J., 10 U.S.C. § 892. His sentence of bad conduct discharge and reduction to airman basic was approved by the convening authority and this Court during our initial review.

The Court of Military Appeals granted appellant’s petition to consider the following issue:

WHETHER APPELLANT’S CONVICTION UNDER SPECIFICATION 2, CHARGE II FOR DERELICTION OF DUTY IN FAILING TO REPORT MARIJUANA USE BY PRISONERS CAN BE AFFIRMED WHEN THE DRUG ABUSE OCCURRED WHILE APPELLANT WAS ALLEGEDLY DISOBEYING AN ORDER TO RETURN THE PRISONERS TO CONFINEMENT AND REPORTING IT WAS INCONSISTENT WITH HIS COUNSEL’S ADVICE TO REMAIN SILENT.

The Court held that the appellant’s conviction for dereliction of duty for failing to report the use of marijuana by the prisoners cannot be sustained under the circumstances of this case. United States v. Dupree, 24 M.J. 319 (C.M.A.1987), citing generally, United States v. Rosato, 3 U.S.C.M.A. 143, 147, 11 C.M.R. 143, 147 (1953). The case is again before us on remand to consider the additional question of whether his conviction for this offense should be sustained on the basis of his failure to prevent the drug use. United States v. Thompson, 22 M.J. 40 (C.M.A.1986); Cf. United States v. Heyward, 22 M.J. 35 (C.M.A.1986).

The essential holding in Heyward, supra, is that an accused cannot be convicted of dereliction of duty for failure to report drug abuse by others on those occasions when he was a principal to the drug abuse that he failed to report. In Thompson, which was issued on the same day as Hey-ward, the Court also held that when a noncommissioned officer is himself a principal to the criminal activity that he fails to report or prevent, he cannot be convicted of both the dereliction of duty and the substantive crime. 22 M.J. 40, 41.

In writing the opinion for the court in the instant case, Judge Sullivan points out that:

It was established at trial that Inforzato and James were military prisoners. It was also established that appellant was informed that these prisoners were to work under his supervision. The prisoner-guard relationship implies as a matter of common sense the duty of the guard or escort to restrain the prisoner from additional illegal acts. See generally United States v. Acostar-Vargas, 13 U.S.C.M.A. 388, 391, 32 C.M.R. 388, 391 (1962). However, trial counsel expressly stated at trial that this dereliction-of-duty charge did not stem from appellant’s duties as a prisoner escort.

Dupree, 24 M.J. 319, 322.

The Court declined to affirm the conviction on that basis, but went on to point out that at trial:

[T]he government asserted that appellant’s duty to prevent marijuana use by these servicemembers stemmed from his customary duties as a noncommissioned [661]*661officer and as implied in service drug regulations. Defense counsel in this case conceded that servicemembers may not use contraband drugs and that non-commissioned officers are responsible for enforcing this prohibition as well as other regulations.

In couching the remand to us the Court cited the dicta in United States v. Thompson, supra at 41, which raised questions as to whether a clear-cut duty to “prevent” crime may be established in a similar context. Noting that such dicta is not controlling, they nevertheless returned the case to us for consideration of the question in light of the issues raised in Thompson. The dicta to which Judge Sullivan refers is that in which the Court recognizes the responsibilities of noncommissioned officers to “take affirmative action to stop the use of drugs, to break up fights, to halt a thief, or to take reasonable measures to ‘prevent’ crime, in any shape or form.” Id. at 41. However, the author goes on to express a certain reluctance on the part of the court to approve criminal sanctions under Article 92(3) for failure to perform a general unspecified duty to “prevent” crime in the absence of an identifiable regulation, directive, or custom of the service which would provide notice to noncommissioned officers of the legal requirements to which they are subject.

At trial, government counsel introduced extracts of Air Force Regulations (A.F.R.) 30-1, 30-2, and 39-6 to support the contention that these regulations, along with the customs of the service, impose a duty on noncommissioned officers to report and prevent drug abuse by subordinates. A.F.R. 30-1, Air Force Standards, 4 May 1983, is a regulation which provides personnel with specific guidance on required standards of conduct, performance, and discipline. Although the regulation is, by its own terms, not to be used “as a basis for disciplinary charges under Article 92(1) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice,” it is to be used “as evidence of customs of the Air Force and duties of members in actions under the UCMJ”. Id. prefatory note.

The regulation further states m pertinent part:

The Air Force has a very important mission; and you, as a member of the Air Force have some serious responsibilities for carrying out that mission. You are responsible for carrying out orders, performing daily tasks related to your duties, and living up to the high standards of the Air Force. If you are a supervisor, you have the responsibility to make sure your subordinates meet the same standards____ If you are a supervisor, you must hold your subordinates accountable and take appropriate corrective actions when they do not fulfill their responsibilities.

A.F.R. 30-1, para. 6.

The following direction is found in paragraph 10 of A.F.R. 30-1. “Drug — the illegal or improper use of drugs including marijuana — is absolutely incompatible with Air Force standards of behavior, performance, and discipline necessary for accomplishing the mission and will not be tolerated.” In addition, A.F.R. 39-6, The Enlisted Force Organization, 12 August 1977, in a paragraph titled “General NCO Responsibilities,” states that noncommissioned officers must “[mjaintain exemplary standards of behavior, including personal conduct, courtesy, loyalty, and personal appearance. Exercising leadership by example, they must be alert to correct personnel who violate these standards.” Further on in the same paragraph NCOs are admonished that their duties include “[ojbserving, counseling, and correcting subordinates on matters of duty performance, individual conduct, customs, courtesies, safety, and personal appearance both on and off duty.” They are also reminded of their responsibilities for “[ejnsuring appropriate action is taken when the conduct or duty performance of a subordinate is marginal or substandard.” A.F.R. 39-6, para 2-3.

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Related

United States v. Rosato
3 C.M.A. 143 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1953)
United States v. Acosta-Vargas
13 C.M.A. 388 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1962)
United States v. Heyward
22 M.J. 35 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1986)
United States v. Thompson
22 M.J. 40 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1986)
United States v. Sales
22 M.J. 305 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1986)
United States v. Dupree
24 M.J. 319 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1987)

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Bluebook (online)
25 M.J. 659, 1987 CMR LEXIS 831, 1987 WL 21257, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-dupree-usafctmilrev-1987.