United States v. Henderson

2 M.J. 321, 1976 CMR LEXIS 659
CourtU S Air Force Court of Military Review
DecidedNovember 30, 1976
DocketACM 21963 (f.rev.)
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 2 M.J. 321 (United States v. Henderson) 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. Henderson, 2 M.J. 321, 1976 CMR LEXIS 659 (usafctmilrev 1976).

Opinion

DECISION

EARLY, Senior Judge:

Pursuant to his pleas, the accused was convicted by a general court-martial, military judge alone, of four specifications alleging possession, transfer and sale of phentermine, sale of marijuana and absence without leave, in violation of Articles 92, 134 and 86, 10 U.S.C. §§ 892, 934, 886 respectively, Uniform Code of Military Justice. The adjudged sentence extended to a bad conduct discharge, confinement at hard labor for 22 months, forfeiture of all pay and allowances and reduction to airman basic. The convening authority reduced the confinement period to 16 months and the forfeitures to $255.00 per month for 18 months and otherwise approved the sentence.

When this case was before us previously we reduced the forfeitures to $240.00 per month for 18 months and affirmed the findings and sentence as modified.1

On 3 June 1976, the Court of Military Appeals vacated our decision and remanded the record of trial with directions to hold further proceedings in abeyance pending [323]*323disposition of the issues granted in United States v. Jackson, United States v. Courtney and United States v. McCarthy. These cases have now been decided: Jackson by order (1976), and Courtney and McCarthy by decision, 24 U.S.C.M.A. 280, 51 C.M.R. 796, 1 M.J. 438 (1976) and 2 M.J. 26 (24 Sept. 1976). The gist of the Jackson and Courtney decisions is that the maximum punishment for drug offenses under Article 134 must be limited to that provided for virtually identical misconduct proscribed by a general regulation triable under Article 92. McCarthy, seemingly overruling a line of earlier cases, prescribes a new approach to the exercise of court-martial jurisdiction over off-base drug offenses.

The operative facts are established by stipulations of expected testimony and the accused’s responses during the providency inquiry pursuant to United States v. Care, 18 U.S.C.M.A. 535, 40 C.M.R. 247 (1969). They establish that on 23 March 1975, the accused offered to sell some yellow capsules, which he called “speed”, to an Airman Willden at Willden’s off-base residence. Although Willden did not have any money at the time, the accused gave him one capsule. Further, on 23 April 1975, an Airman Blum met the accused at a snack bar on Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, pursuant to a previous agreement, and gave the accused $20.00 for 13 “hits” of “speed”. Blum then accompanied the accused to the latter’s barracks room where he received five more capsules. After that transaction the accused had 26 capsules remaining. Finally, on 16 July 1975, the accused encountered an Airman McCoy in the barracks day room and offered to sell him marijuana. At first McCoy refused, but he ultimately bought a “lid” for $10.00. After the accused left, McCoy reported the incident to his squadron commander.

At the times of the above transactions both Willden and Blum were “cooperating” with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.

Appellate defense counsel assign four errors. In the first they assert:

THE COURT-MARTIAL LACKED JURISDICTION TO TRY THE APPELLANT FOR THE OFF-BASE TRANSFER AND POSSESSION OF PHEN-TERMINE AS ALLEGED IN SPECIFICATIONS 1 AND 2 OF CHARGE II.

We disagree.

The facts relevant to this issue, while not extensive, are sufficient, in our opinion, to establish the service connection of the alleged offenses. As we have held before, the transfer of harmful drugs to “persons known or believed by the accused to be servicemen clearly represents a flouting of military authority and a threat to the military installation.” United States v. Campbell, 2 M.J. 689 (A.F.C.M.R. 19 Oct. 1976); see also United States v. Tinley, 2 M.J. 694 (A.F.C.M.R. 4 Nov. 1976); Relford v. Commandant, 401 U.S. 355, 91 S.Ct. 649, 28 L.Ed.2d 102 (1971); Schlesinger v. Councilman, 420 U.S. 738, 95 S.Ct. 1300, 43 L.Ed.2d 591 (1975); Peterson v. Goodwin, 512 F.2d 479 (5th Cir. 1975). Here the “harmful drug” transferred was, according to evidence offered by the defense, Ionamin (phentermine resin), which is a controlled drug prescribed for the treatment of obesity. While not properly a member of the amphetamine family, its side effects (central nervous stimulation) are much akin. Although the potential harmfulness of the single capsule transferred is limited, we believe that the unprescribed, unregulated use of this drug is sufficiently deleterious to the performance of military duties that its unauthorized transfer to another serviceman constitutes a threat to the military organization in the sense of Campbell and Tinley, both supra.2 We hold that under the cir[324]*324cumstances of this case the transfer by the accused to a fellow serviceman is service connected. Relford v. Commandant, supra.

In their second assignment appellate defense counsel assert:

THE APPELLANT WAS DENIED DUE PROCESS AND EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE LAW BY BEING PROSECUTED UNDER ARTICLE 134 FOR THE DRUG OFFENSE ALLEGED IN CHARGE III RATHER THAN UNDER ARTICLE 92.

At trial the parties agreed that the maximum punishment included, among other things, confinement at hard labor for 13 years and six months. This was the correct maximum under the then-existing law. See United States v. Walter, 20 U.S.C.M.A. 367, 43 C.M.R. 207 (1971). However, had the decision in Courtney, supra, been in existence, the total authorized confinement at hard labor would have been reduced by three years. We considered this contention in our original decision on our own motion. There we said:

[W]e are convinced that the accused could not have suffered prejudicial harm. The difference in potential maximum punishment in this case amounts to only three years: i. e., ten and one-half years as contrasted to thirteen and one-half years. Since the military judge sentenced the accused to only twenty-two months confinement at hard labor, and the convening authority, pursuant to the pretrial agreement was limited to a maximum of eighteen months confinement at hard labor, ... we see no fair risk that either the military judge or the convening authority could have been influenced by the theoretically greater maximum punishment of Article 134 as opposed to Article 92. Accordingly, we consider such an error — if in fact it be one — to be de minimis.

We affirm our original holding. Further, we have recently held that the Courtney decision has only prospective application. See United States v. DeLaFuente, 2 M.J. 668 (f.rev.) (A.F.C.M.R. 16 Sept. 1976); United States v. Wilson, 2 M.J. 683 (A.F. C.M.R. 15 Oct. 1976).

In their third assignment, appellate defense counsel assert:

THE MILITARY JUDGE ERRED IN NOT CONSIDERING SPECIFICATIONS 1 WITH 2 AND 4 WITH 5 OF CHARGE II MULTIPLICIOUS FOR SENTENCING.

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Related

United States v. Wessels
8 M.J. 747 (U S Air Force Court of Military Review, 1980)
United States v. Henderson
4 M.J. 750 (U S Air Force Court of Military Review, 1978)
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3 M.J. 501 (U S Air Force Court of Military Review, 1977)
United States v. Merchant
2 M.J. 334 (U S Air Force Court of Military Review, 1976)
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2 M.J. 721 (U S Air Force Court of Military Review, 1976)

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