United States v. Lane

48 M.J. 849
CourtUnited States Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals
DecidedAugust 10, 1998
DocketACM 32473
StatusPublished

This text of 48 M.J. 849 (United States v. Lane) 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. Lane, 48 M.J. 849 (afcca 1998).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

SPISAK, Judge:

Officer and enlisted members, sitting as a general court-martial, convicted the appellant in absentia of making false statements by signing false official records, larceny of approximately $56,000 from the United States Air Force, presenting false claims totalling $49,000, and several forgeries, in violation of Articles 107, 121, 132, and 123 of the UCMJ, respectively (10 U.S.C. §§ 907, 921, 932, and 923). The court sentenced him to a dishonorable discharge, confinement for 10 years, reduction to the lowest enlisted grade, total forfeitures, and a fine of $56,000.

The appellant raises five assignments of error for our consideration. He argues that the charges of signing false records in violation of Article 107 and filing false claims in violation of Article 132 are multiplicious with one another and with larceny (Article 121); his sentence is inappropriately severe; the military judge abused his discretion by proceeding without the presence of the appellant; the military judge committed prejudicial error during sentencing by allowing the government to introduce an Air Force Form 2098 indicating that the appellant was absent without leave; and, the application of Article 57(a), UCMJ, violates the Ex Post Facto Clause of the Constitution with respect to the appellant. We certified a sixth issue: whether the evidence is factually and legally sufficient to support a finding of guilty of larceny of approximately $56,000, when the appellant was found guilty of presenting false claims totalling only $49,000. We find that Article 57(a) operates as an ex post facto law in the appellant’s case.

FACTS

Between November 14, 1990, and July 26, 1995, the appellant, a master sergeant with 17 years service, submitted 136 vouchers for local area travel. These claims totaled $59,-423.37. During the trial, the government moved to dismiss 11 of the vouchers from the false claims charge which reduced the total number of vouchers to 125 and the total amount claimed to approximately $56,000. Just prior to resting its case, the government moved to amend Charge II, Larceny, to reflect the same $56,000 figure.

The claims which form the basis of the charges were purportedly approved by the appellant’s supervisors and most included several trips between his duty station and Fort Meade, Maryland. However, each of those supervisors testified that either the signature which appeared in the approval box was not his, or that he would not have approved travel to Fort Meade for the appellant, or that there was no legitimate reason for the appellant to make such trips. Only 14 of the 125 suspect local area travel vouchers contained legitimate signatures by the approval authority. Additionally, the claims included fund cites from some 18 different accounts, some of which were for units to which the appellant was never assigned.

MULTIPLICITY

In United States v. Albrecht, 43 M.J. 65 (1995), our senior court explained that when all the elements of one offense are included within the elements of the other, the two are multiplicious. Otherwise, we must assume that Congress intended violations of each article to be separately charged. Whalen v. United States, 445 U.S. 684, 692, 100 S.Ct. 1432, 63 L.Ed.2d 715 (1980). When two separate statutory provisions are involved, a “separate-elements test” is applied. Offenses are multiplicious if elements of one are included within the elements of the other. United States v. Teters, 37 M.J. 370 (C.M.A.1993).

A. False Claims and False Statements

The appellant argues that making a false statement and presenting a false claim are multiplicious because the false statements were “included offense[s] under the Article 132 [false claims] specification[s].” Prior unpublished opinions from different panels on this court have resulted in opposite [854]*854conclusions on this very issue. Therefore, we take this opportunity to specifically address the issue in a published opinion in order to establish a firm precedent on which counsel may now rely.

Here, Charges I and III allege different offenses. However, even a cursory review of the charges which were presented to the court reveals an overlap of the factual underpinnings of the offenses. For example, the Specification of Charge I indicates that between November 14, 1990 and June 26, 1995, appellant made false official statements by signing “Standard Form 1164s (Local Area Travel Vouchers)” which he knew contained false information. The Specification of Charge III, alleges that during the same time period, the appellant made false claims by presenting “local area travel vouchers” for approval knowing them to be false. Charge III lists each of the vouchers by number and amount, but Charge I contains no specific information about the vouchers. Moreover, the only evidence presented at trial related to those vouchers listed in Charge III.

The elements of false official statement are that an accused signed an official document, the document was false in some manner, the accused knew it was false at the time of signing, and the document was made with the intent to deceive. Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (MCM), Part IV, If 31b (1995 ed.). The elements of presenting a false claim are that the accused made a claim against the United States, the claim was false or fraudulent in certain particulars, and the accused knew it was false. MCM, Part IV, U 58 c(l)(a) and (b). However, not every false official statement results in a false claim. For example, a military member could make a false statement to the police during a criminal investigation. See United States v. Dorsey, 38 M.J. 244 (C.M.A.1993). Similarly, while the false claim in the instant case resulted from the false statement, not every false claim depends on a false statement having been made. As the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit explained, cashing a check to which one is not entitled is an example of a false claim where no false statement has been made. United States v. Allen, 13 F.3d 105, 108 (4th Cir.1993). See e.g., United States v. Branker, 395 F.2d 881 (2d Cir.1968) (endorsing and cashing a tax refund check to which not entitled is a false claim against the United States); Dimmick v. United States, 116 F. 825 (9th Cir.1902) (making demand on a bill which has been paid constitutes a false claim even though the bill is not a false statement).

This issue is governed by Schmuck v. United States, 489 U.S. 705, 109 S.Ct. 1443, 103 L.Ed.2d 734 (1989), Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299, 52 S.Ct. 180, 76 L.Ed. 306 (1932), and Teters. In Teters,

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

Related

Blockburger v. United States
284 U.S. 299 (Supreme Court, 1931)
Taylor v. United States
414 U.S. 17 (Supreme Court, 1973)
Whalen v. United States
445 U.S. 684 (Supreme Court, 1980)
Schmuck v. United States
489 U.S. 705 (Supreme Court, 1989)
Crosby v. United States
506 U.S. 255 (Supreme Court, 1993)
United States v. Albrecht
43 M.J. 65 (Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 1995)
United States v. Johnson
46 M.J. 8 (Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 1997)
United States v. Gorski
47 M.J. 370 (Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 1997)
United States v. Cook
20 C.M.A. 504 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1971)
United States v. Johnson
7 M.J. 396 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1979)
United States v. Snelling
14 M.J. 267 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1982)
United States v. Chapman
20 M.J. 717 (U.S. Navy-Marine Corps Court of Military Review, 1985)
United States v. Redmond
21 M.J. 319 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1986)
United States v. Thomas
22 M.J. 57 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1986)
United States v. Wingart
27 M.J. 128 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1988)
United States v. Denney
28 M.J. 521 (U.S. Army Court of Military Review, 1989)
United States v. Dresen
36 M.J. 1103 (U S Air Force Court of Military Review, 1993)
United States v. Teters
37 M.J. 370 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1993)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
48 M.J. 849, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-lane-afcca-1998.