United States v. Hann

CourtUnited States Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals
DecidedApril 8, 2019
DocketACM 39374
StatusUnpublished

This text of United States v. Hann (United States v. Hann) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Hann, (afcca 2019).

Opinion

U NITED S TATES AIR F ORCE C OURT OF C RIMINAL APPEALS ________________________

No. ACM 39374 ________________________

UNITED STATES Appellee v. Benjamin L. Hann Senior Airman (E-4), U.S. Air Force, Appellant ________________________

Appeal from the United States Air Force Trial Judiciary Decided 8 April 2019 ________________________

Military Judge: John C. Harwood (arraignment), Donald R. Eller, Jr. (trial). Approved sentence: Bad-conduct discharge, confinement for 4 years, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and reduction to E-1. Sentence adjudged 5 May 2017 by GCM convened at Ramstein Air Base, Germa- ny. For Appellant: Major Todd M. Swensen, USAF. For Appellee: Lieutenant Colonel Joseph J. Kubler, USAF; Captain Mi- chael T. Bunnell, USAF; Mary Ellen Payne, Esquire. Before JOHNSON, DENNIS, and LEWIS, Appellate Military Judges. Judge DENNIS delivered the opinion of the court, in which Senior Judge JOHNSON and Judge LEWIS joined. ________________________

This is an unpublished opinion and, as such, does not serve as precedent under AFCCA Rule of Practice and Procedure 18.4. ________________________

DENNIS, Judge: Appellant was convicted, in accordance with his pleas, of two specifica- tions of dereliction of duty, one specification of false official statement, and United States v. Hann, No. ACM 39374

one specification of obstruction of justice in violation of Articles 92, 107, and 134, Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), 10 U.S.C. §§ 892, 907, 934. Contrary to his pleas, Appellant was also convicted of one specification of negligent homicide in violation of Article 134, UCMJ. 1 A panel of officer members sentenced Appellant to a bad-conduct discharge, confinement for four years, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and reduction to the grade of E-1. The convening authority approved the sentence as adjudged. At the core of this case is the tragic death of SSgt SD, who was riding on his bicycle when Appellant’s vehicle struck and killed him on a road near Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Appellant does not contest that he caused SSgt SD’s death but contests the extent of his culpability. Appellant raises three issues on appeal: (1) whether the military judge abused his discretion by not admitting under Military Rule of Evidence 803 a statement made by Appellant; (2) whether Appellant’s conviction for negligent homicide was fac- tually and legally sufficient; and (3) whether an 80-day violation of the 120- day post-trial processing standard from the completion of trial to action war- rants relief pursuant to United States v. Tardif, 57 M.J. 219 (C.A.A.F. 2002). We find no prejudicial error and affirm.

I. BACKGROUND On 26 March 2016, Appellant and several other Airmen left Ramstein Air Base and headed to a nearby restaurant for dinner. The Airmen rode in two separate vehicles. Appellant was driving the first vehicle with Airman First Class (A1C) JB as his only passenger. Senior Airman (SrA) DC was driving the second vehicle with three other Airmen as his passengers. The distance from the base to the restaurant was short. To get there, the Airmen took two local highways, including one known as K-25, which con- tained only two lanes, one per direction of traffic. Appellant’s designated lane was on the right side of the road, but he used the opposing lane to pass other vehicles, sometimes two or three at a time, that were traveling at slower rates of speed. Appellant returned to his designated lane when the pass was complete. SrA DC, who was following closely behind Appellant, completed each pass just as Appellant did. The K-25 highway contained various speed limits ranging from 50 kilometers per hour (or approximately 31 miles per hour) to 100 kilometers per hour (or approximately 62 miles per hour). All of

1Appellant was acquitted of one specification of reckless operation of a vehicle and one specification of involuntary manslaughter in violation of Articles 111 and 119, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. §§ 911, 919.

2 United States v. Hann, No. ACM 39374

the Airmen reported traveling “fast” but varied in their estimations of the speed the cars were traveling. Their estimations ranged from 40 to 60 miles per hour. At one point, Appellant, who was driving a Ford Mustang, attempted to pass a sport utility vehicle (SUV) just before a blind right-hand curve on K- 25. The manner in which Appellant completed this pass was the crux of the dispute at Appellant’s trial. What was not in dispute was that when Appel- lant saw SSgt SD riding his bicycle towards Appellant, Appellant’s Mustang almost immediately struck the bicycle, causing SSgt SD to hit the driver’s side of Appellant’s windshield, fly through the air, and land in a ditch against a fence just outside an ammunition depot. The ammunition depot gate guard saw Appellant’s car drive past the gate and noticed that it was “definitely faster” than the other vehicles on the road. The gate guard did not see the collision, but he heard the impact, saw SSgt SD’s body fly through the air, and rushed out of the gate to assist SSgt SD. Appellant and SrA DC both stopped their vehicles and also rushed to SSgt SD’s aid. By all accounts, Appellant became frantic after the collision. He began crying, yelled for someone to call emergency services, and even pleaded with two of his fellow Airmen to “take the fall” for the collision because Appellant “had a family and a kid.” By the time emergency services arrived, SSgt SD had no pulse. SSgt SD was later pronounced dead due to the multiple injuries he sustained when he was struck by Appellant’s car.

II. DISCUSSION A. Exclusion of Evidence Appellant asserts that the military judge abused his discretion by exclud- ing a statement Appellant purportedly made about whether SSgt SD was in Appellant’s lane just before the collision. We find that the military judge did not abuse his discretion. 1. Additional Background A1C JB, Appellant’s passenger, testified during his direct examination that, as they were passing the SUV, Appellant made a statement to “make the presence of the biker known.” Although A1C JB could not recall Appel- lant’s exact words, he said that “[i]t was something to the effect, like, ‘Look at this guy’ or like, ‘F[**]king biker’ or something.” During the cross- examination of A1C JB, trial defense counsel attempted to elicit a different statement Appellant purportedly made to A1C JB. Specifically, trial defense counsel sought to admit evidence that Appellant told A1C JB the bicyclist was in Appellant’s lane just before the collision. When trial counsel objected to the evidence as impermissible hearsay, trial defense counsel responded

3 United States v. Hann, No. ACM 39374

that the evidence was not being offered for its truth and engaged in the fol- lowing colloquy with the military judge: DC: Sir, essentially, it’s our theory that: Yes, there was a statement made about the location, the presence of the biker in the road, but that [A1C JB] is confused about as to when that statement was made, whether it was made in the car prior to the impact or whether it was made dur- ing this discussion afterwards. MJ: Do you want to call him back in and ask him those ques- tions? I am not going to let you testify. I appreciate your theory. I appreciate theme or where you might want to go, but right now, there’s a hearsay objection. The hearsay objection has to do with your client’s statements or com- ments to the witness, on the road, outside of the car. So, help me understand how you overcome a hearsay objec- tion? DC: Essentially, sir, we are saying that that statement has al- ready been offered through the government.

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