United States v. Mallow

7 C.M.A. 116, 7 USCMA 116, 21 C.M.R. 242, 1956 CMA LEXIS 256, 1956 WL 4577
CourtUnited States Court of Military Appeals
DecidedJune 8, 1956
DocketNo. 6536
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 7 C.M.A. 116 (United States v. Mallow) 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. Mallow, 7 C.M.A. 116, 7 USCMA 116, 21 C.M.R. 242, 1956 CMA LEXIS 256, 1956 WL 4577 (cma 1956).

Opinions

Opinion of the Court

George W. Latimer, Judge:

As this case reaches us, it involves an American civilian employee of the Department of the Army, who stands convicted of three separate offenses of violating a general regulation of the United States Army Forces, Far East, contrary to Article 92, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 50 USC § 686. The three crimes involve prohibited money transactions, and the violative acts were alleged to be: (1) wrongful and unlawful purchases by the accused of dollar instruments valued at $38,025.00, a sum in excess of his pay and allowances for the period involved; and (2) wrongful and unlawful purchases by accused of two mail transfers of $2,000.00 each in the name of a third person, with funds which were owned by and belonged to the accused, each purchase being a separate offense. In addition, the accused stands convicted of a fourth offense which was charged as a violation of Article 81, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 50 USC § 675. That offense consists of a conspiracy between the accused and a named enlisted man to violate the clause of the regulation which prohibits the purchase and remission of money, for third parties, through a military financial facility. All four offenses were founded, directly or indirectly, upon [119]*119alleged violations of Circular Number 3, Headquarters, United States Army-Forces, Far East, dated January 26, 1953.

Accused was sentenced originally to pay a fine of $25,000.00, to be confined at hard labor for five years, and to be further confined until the fine was paid, but for not more than seven additional years. The convening authority affirmed the findings and approved the fine of $25,000.00, but reduced the confinement at hard labor to four years, and also reduced the additional confinement by providing that the accused must remain incarcerated until the fine was paid, but for not more than four years.

A board of review in the office of The Judge Advocate General of the Army made it unnecessary for us to consider the findings of guilt on the two offenses alleged in specifications 1 and 2 of Charge I, as it set them aside and ordered the specifications dismissed. All other findings were affirmed, but because of its action in dismissing the two offenses, the board modified the punishment in the following manner. It approved the fine of $25,000.00, reduced the confinement at hard labor to three years, and limited the coercive confinement until the fine was paid to not more than three years.

We granted the accused’s petition for review and limited arguments to the following issues: (1) Whether the instructions by the law officer on the elements of the offense alleged in the specifications of Charges I and II were sufficient; and (2) whether his instruction to the effect that it was incumbent upon the accused to bring himself within the exception mentioned in the regulation was erroneous.

After briefs had been filed and oral arguments heard, and while this cause was pending, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Toth v Quarles, 350 US 11, 76 S Ct 1, 100 L ed (Adv p 4) (1955). The result reached in that opinion, together with some of the language used therein, caused us to give consideration to the question of court-martial jurisdiction over this accused. Out of an abundance of eaution for the rights of the accused, we ordered reargument on the jurisdictional issue alone. We will consider that matter first, for if it were decided in favor of the accused, all other discussion would be futile.

II

In United States v Burney, 6 USCMA 776, 21 CMR 98, we gave exhaustive consideration to the ques- tion of the constitutionality of Article 2(11) of the Code, 50 USC § 552, the statute upon which jurisdiction is founded in this ease. We there concluded that, on the basis of precedent, history, and logic, that particular subsection of the Article possessed no constitutional infirmity. Most of what was said there is equally pertinent here, adequately disposes of the issue, and will not be repeated. Although some attempt was made by counsel to distinguish Burney, we are sure that the effort revealed no adequate ground for a different conclusion. This accused, a civilian employee of the Department of the Army, was assigned to, and worked for, the Billeting Section, Headquarters, Camp Tokyo, Japan, and he was not a member of the Japanese community. Therefore, he falls within the express terms of Article 2 (11), supra.

III

We next must deal with the merits of the issues we granted in the first instance. Because of the nature of the questions involved, it is only necessary that we discuss two of the specifications pleaded on the charge sheet, for Specification 3 of Charge I is representative of all the allegations under that Charge. Accordingly, we set out Specification 3 of Charge I and Specification 1, Charge II, verbatim:

“Specification 3: In that Nathan Mallow, civilian employee of the Department of the Army, GS-5, . . • a person serving with, employed by, and accompanying the Armed Forces of the United States without the continental limits of the United States, . . . did, at Tokyo, Honshu, Japan, from about 27 May 1953 to about 10 December 1953, violate a lawful gen[120]*120eral regulation, to-wit: Paragraph 20c, Section III, Circular Number 3, Headquarters, United States Army Forces, Far East, APO 343, dated 26 January 1953, by wrongfully and unlawfully purchasing from the Chase National Bank of the City of New York, Tokyo Branch, Military Banking Facility, about 344 dollar instruments of a value of about $38,-025.00, a sum in excess-of his pay and allowances.
“CHARGE II: Violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Article 81.
“Specification: In that Nathan Mallow, civilian employee of the Department of the Army, GS-5, . . . a person serving with, employed by, and accompanying the Armed Forces of the United States without the continental limits of the United States, . . . did, at Tokyo, Honshu, Japan, on or about 29 June 1953, conspire with Sergeant Henry Morin, U. S. Army, ... to commit an offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, to-wit: the unlawful remittance of money belonging to the said Nathan Mallow through a Military Banking Facility in violation of Paragraph 20, Section III, Circular Number 3, Headquarters, United States Army Forces, Far East, APO 343, dated 26 January 1953, a lawful general regulation, and in order to effect the object of the conspiracy, the said Nathan Mallow, on or about 29 June 1953 and on or about 20 July 1953, caused the said Sergeant Henry Morin to execute and to have authenticated by his commanding officer, two (2) false application to Remit Funds forms (FEC Form 432), each for the sum of $2,000.00, and to execute two (2) false applications to the Chase National Bank of the City of New York, Tokyo Branch, Military Banking Facility, to transfer funds by mail, each for the sum of $2,000.00, which false documents, the said Nathan Mallow presented to the Chase National Bank of the City of New York, Tokyo Branch, Military Banking Facility and thereupon purchased, on or about 29 June 1953, a mail transfer of funds to the Chase National Bank of the City of New York, New York, New York in the sum of $2,000.00 for the account of the Nationwide Automobile Sales Company, New York, New York, and on or about 20. July 1953, a mail transfer of funds to the Chase National Bank of the City of New York, New York, New York, in the sum of $2,000.00 for the account of the Nationwide Automobile.

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Bluebook (online)
7 C.M.A. 116, 7 USCMA 116, 21 C.M.R. 242, 1956 CMA LEXIS 256, 1956 WL 4577, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-mallow-cma-1956.