United States v. Henry

23 C.M.A. 70
CourtUnited States Court of Military Appeals
DecidedMay 3, 1974
DocketNo. 27,573
StatusPublished

This text of 23 C.M.A. 70 (United States v. Henry) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Military 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. Henry, 23 C.M.A. 70 (cma 1974).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Duncan, Chief Judge:

At Fort MacArthur, California, appellant was convicted by a general court-martial, contrary to his pleas, of wrongful possession for sale, and wrongful sale, of LSD, in violation of Article 134, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 USC §934. He was sentenced to a bad-conduct discharge, confinement at hard labor for 1 year, partial forfeitures, and reduction to the lowest enlisted grade. The convening authority approved the sentence but suspended forfeitures in excess of $190 per month for 12 months. The U. S. Army Court of Military Review affirmed the findings and sentence on July 25, 1973.

At trial appellant claimed that he had been entrapped by government agents. On cross-examination, after his objection was overruled, appellant admitted participation in a sale of LSD subsequent to the alleged date of the wrongful sale of LSD for which he was charged. He assigns as error the introduction of the evidence of the subsequent sale. We believe that the evidence was properly before the court and relevant to the entrapment issue. The appellant also urges that the trial judge erred in failing to instruct upon the theory that appellant was gratuitously acting only as an agent for the purchaser of LSD. With that contention we agree.

Private First Class Juan A. Diaz, an informant for the CID, and Private First Class Gary D. Henry, the appellant, both testified at trial, and their substantially differing accounts of transactions in April 1971 give rise to the issues we review.

DIAZ

Diaz, a Spanish-speaking Puerto Rican soldier, testified through a court interpreter. He stated that he first saw the appellant on April 8, 1971, although he did not speak to him until April 13. On April 14, a second conversation was held concerning the possible sale of drugs which resulted in appellant writing on a torn napkin the words "purple double domes mescaline Gary Henry,” and some numbers. On the morning of April 16,1 Diaz stated that he met appellant again and arrangements were made for a "business” meeting at 11:00 a.m. in Building 360, appellant’s barracks. After consulting with CID agents, Diaz arrived at appellant’s barracks with a marked $10 bill. There he received six LSD tablets from appellant in return for the $10 bill given him by the CID. The sixth pill, Diaz claimed, was free as an incentive to continue buying. Diaz also contended that appellant took the pills from a plastic bag hidden in his underpants and put them in a small film container which Martinez obtained from appellant’s locker. Diaz denied exerting any pressure on Henry to make the sale.

HENRY

Appellant stated on April 13 or 14, 1971, he was in the messhall and talked with Diaz, whom he had met several weeks earlier and had seen five to ten times since then. Diaz asked him where he could obtain drugs or would appellant obtain drugs for him. No arrangements for a narcotics sale were made that day.

The next meeting with Diaz was on the morning of April 16. Diaz again asked if drugs could be procured. The [72]*72appellant first said no, then Diaz insisted and appellant told him that he knew a person "who was selling mescaline and LSD and that he might be able to talk to him about it.” Diaz seemed unfamiliar about mescaline and LSD. At Diaz’s request, Henry wrote on a napkin, " 'Mescaline,’ ” " 'Purple Double Domes.’ ” Diaz was told to stop at his barracks during lunch so that he could introduce him to a seller. Appellant stated that he was referring to Gray, a fellow serviceman, who had told him of his drug dealing 2 days earlier and who had shown appellant his hiding place for drugs over a beam in the barracks ceiling. When Diaz arrived at the barracks, Gray was not there. Henry told Diaz "that the best thing to do would be to come back later.” Diaz was "acting kind of nervous and upset about the whole thing, and he said that a friend had given him some money and that it was important that he got it right then.” Diaz persisted in his request for the drugs.

As a result of Diaz’s importunities, appellant states that he consented to make the sale in Gray’s absence. Appellant denied taking the pills from his clothing, but related that he took them from the hiding place, and that all six pills were included in the $10 selling price. Appellant maintained that Diaz initiated all discussions concerning drugs, that he neither sold nor used drugs before April 16, 1971, and that prior to the time of the alleged sale he had not formed an intent to sell drugs. He testified that he gave the $10 to Gray when he returned. Appellant specifically denied being Gray’s agent and said that he did not have Gray’s permission to sell drugs.

On cross-examination, trial counsel questioned appellant about a drug transaction 5 days after the alleged April 16 sale, and appellant admitted that he sold 25 LSD tablets to David Beck, a state undercover narcotics agent who was posing as Diaz’s friend. Appellant explained that Diaz approached him as he was about to enter a liquor store and stated that he had a friend who wanted to purchase a large quantity of LSD. Appellant informed him that Gray had left for Long Beach and that he "just . . . couldn’t help him.” Diaz then became "very angry” and at Diaz’s insistence appellant stated that he acquiesced and sold the drugs to Diaz’s friend since "it meant that much to him.” Appellant again maintained that he did not have Gray’s permission to sell the drugs.

The military judge and counsel for both parties agreed that the defense of entrapment had been interposed and was the proper subject of a jury instruction. There appears to be no dispute that where the evidence of record tends to show that acts or statements of government agents dominated an accused’s intent to the extent that he commits the crime envisioned and originated by the agents, entrapment is a defense. Paragraph 216 e, Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, 1969 (Rev). And after a remarkable history of diverse opinions by members of the Supreme Court, see United States v Russell, 411 US 423 (1973); Sherman v United States, 356 US 369 (1958); Sorrells v United States, 287 US 435 (1932), a majority of that Court has again recently endorsed the use of evidence by the Government to show that one claiming entrapment was predisposed to commit the act just prior to the alleged unfair inducement. United States v Russell, supra. Not disputing the general rule, appellant argues that evidence of uncharged misconduct introduced to show predisposition to the crime must be limited to conduct prior to the government agent’s enticement to crime. We disagree.

When the defense of entrapment is interposed and a trial judge using sound discretion concludes that the probative value of subsequent misconduct occurring reasonably contemporaneously with the crime charged outweighs the risk of undue prejudice which attends its introduction, we see no error in allowing the Government this evidentiary mode of rebuttal. United States v Rodriguez, 474 F2d 587 (5th Cir 1973); United States v Santore, 164 F Supp 362 (ED Pa 1958), aff'd, 270 F2d 949 (3d Cir 1959); State v Turner, 104 Ariz 469, 455 P2d 443 (1969); People v Calvano, 30 NY2d 199, 282 NE2d 322 (1972). As the court in United States v Santore, supra, stated:

[73]*73A defendant’s state of mind may be shown by events reasonably contemporaneous with, even though after, the event, since such events justify an inference as to his state of mind at the time of the crime charged.

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Related

Sorrells v. United States
287 U.S. 435 (Supreme Court, 1932)
Sherman v. United States
356 U.S. 369 (Supreme Court, 1958)
United States v. Russell
411 U.S. 423 (Supreme Court, 1973)
State v. Turner
455 P.2d 443 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1969)
People v. Calvano
282 N.E.2d 322 (New York Court of Appeals, 1972)
United States v. Stewart
20 C.M.A. 300 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1971)
United States v. Fruscella
21 C.M.A. 26 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1971)
United States v. Suter
21 C.M.A. 510 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1972)
United States v. Santore
164 F. Supp. 362 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 1958)

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Bluebook (online)
23 C.M.A. 70, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-henry-cma-1974.