United States v. Olinger

45 M.J. 644, 1997 CCA LEXIS 4, 1997 WL 43003
CourtNavy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals
DecidedJanuary 22, 1997
DocketNMCM 92 02705
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 45 M.J. 644 (United States v. Olinger) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Navy-Marine Corps 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. Olinger, 45 M.J. 644, 1997 CCA LEXIS 4, 1997 WL 43003 (N.M. 1997).

Opinion

LUCAS, Judge:

This case raises an important issue regarding the legal effectiveness of an action by the Secretary of the Navy, through the Navy Clemency and Parole Board [hereinafter NCPB] to remit an approved punitive discharge and substitute therefor an administrative separation before a ease is reviewed by this court pursuant to Article 66, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. § 866 (1994)[hereinafter UCMJ]. We hold that the action by the NCPB under these facts is final and binding on convening authorities and this court.

A review of the facts is necessary for a complete understanding of our decision to apply corrective action to the sentence.

In the Fall of 1992, pursuant to his guilty pleas before a general court-martial, military judge alone, the appellant was convicted of committing seven violations of Title 18, U.S.C. §§ 1465 and 2252, brought under Article 134, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 934, for distributing or receiving obscene material or child pornography in interstate commerce.

The appellant’s adjudged sentence included a dishonorable discharge, total forfeitures, reduction to pay grade E-l, and confinement for 4 years.

[646]*646In his November 1992 post-trial action pursuant to Article 60, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 860, and in accordance with the terms of a pretrial agreement, the convening authority gave the appellant some forfeiture and confinement relief and mitigated the dishonorable discharge to a bad-conduct discharge.

In April 1993, the NCPB remitted the appellant’s approved punitive bad-conduct discharge and substituted therefor an administrative, general discharge. See Appendix A In May 1993, the NCPB also directed that the appellant be released from posttrial confinement into a parole status.

The record indicates that following his release from confinement and into a parole status, the appellant was gainfully employed in a civilian job, participated in a counseling program designed for this type of offender, and appeared to have violated no condition of his parole.

Subsequent to the NCPB actions remitting the bad-conduct discharge and releasing the appellant from post-trial confinement into a parole status, the record was filed with this court for review pursuant to Article 66, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 866. This court was not informed of any of the actions by the NCPB. We note at the outset that, notwithstanding the NCPB action remitting the bad-conduct discharge, this court acquired jurisdiction to review the ease under Article 66(b), UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 866(b). Jurisdiction under Article 66(b), UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 866(b), is dependent solely upon the sentence approved by the convening authority and whether appellate review has been waived or withdrawn. Jurisdiction is not based upon actions of the NCPB.

After reviewing the case, in a 30 August 1994 published opinion, we set aside all but two of the guilty findings and the sentence and authorized a rehearing on both the findings and sentence. United States v. Olinger, 41 M.J. 615 (N.M.C.M.R.1994).

After remand, the rehearing convening authority, who was not the original convening authority, elected to proceed with a rehearing on the sentence only. In May 1995, the sentencing rehearing was conducted for the affirmed guilty findings which included a single specification each of receiving child pornography and distributing obscene material, both in interstate commerce.

At the time of the sentencing rehearing, the appellant’s original trial defense counsel was no longer on active duty and a substitute defense counsel had been appointed. Post-trial affidavits from the appellant and substitute defense counsel indicate that the substitute counsel was aware of the earlier NCPB actions but made a conscious decision not to present that information to the rehearing court-martial (military judge alone), believing either that evidence of the NCPB actions was inadmissible, or, for tactical reasons, that a more favorable sentence from the judge would result if he was ignorant of the NCPB actions. Additionally, there is nothing in the record indicating that the rehearing convening authority, staff judge advocate, or trial counsel were aware of the NCPB actions.

At the sentencing rehearing, citing Rule for Courts-Martial 810(d), Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (1995 ed.)[hereinafter R.C.M.], the military judge ruled that the maximum sentence for the rehearing would be the original adjudged sentence as reduced by the original convening authority. The sentence subsequently adjudged at the rehearing consisted of confinement for 9 months, reduction to pay grade E-l, and a bad-conduct discharge, which was less severe than the sentence approved by the original convening authority.

The substitute defense counsel submitted a post-rehearing clemency petition to the convening authority on behalf of the appellant. See Art. 38(c), UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 838(c); R.C.M. 1105. However, the substitute counsel did not inform the convening authority of the NCPB actions. In an affidavit, the substitute defense counsel indicates that a conscious, tactical decision was made to withhold that information, under the belief that clemency would be more likely if the convening authority did not have that information. There is no evidence in the record that the rehearing convening authority was otherwise made aware of the NCPB actions.

In his September 1995 action on the rehearing sentence, the convening authority approved the new adjudged sentence and [647]*647ordered it executed, including the bad-conduct discharge. That part of the convening authority’s action purporting to execute the punitive discharge at that point in time was a nullity as the rehearing sentence was not yet fully reviewed and affirmed as final. Art. 71(c), UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 871; R.C.M. 1113. See United States v. McGee, 30 M.J. 1086, 1088 (N.M.C.M.R.1989).

The case was then returned to this court for further review under Article 66, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 866.

In Assignment of Error I,1 the appellant claims that he was denied effective assistance of counsel because his trial defense counsel failed to notify the rehearing court-martial or convening authority of the NCPB clemency action remitting the punitive discharge. In its response to that assigned error, the Government, among other things, argues that when this court, in August 1994, set aside the original sentence, the April 1993 NCPB action remitting the bad-conduct discharge became a nullity. The Government cited no authority for such an important proposition, so we specified that as an issue.2

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
45 M.J. 644, 1997 CCA LEXIS 4, 1997 WL 43003, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-olinger-nmcca-1997.