United States v. Powell

2 M.J. 849, 1976 CMR LEXIS 840
CourtU.S. Army Court of Military Review
DecidedApril 29, 1976
DocketCM 433902
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 2 M.J. 849 (United States v. Powell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering U.S. Army 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. Powell, 2 M.J. 849, 1976 CMR LEXIS 840 (usarmymilrev 1976).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

DeFORD, Judge:

The appellant was tried and convicted by a general court-martial of carrying a concealed weapon and assault with a dangerous weapon in violation of Articles 92 and 128, Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) (10 U.S.C. §§ 892 and 928) and received the approved sentence set forth above.

The appellant, through counsel, alleges that error was committed in his trial in that the military judge erred by denying appellant’s motion to dismiss all charges and specifications because of a denial of speedy trial. We agree.

In United States v. Burton,1 the court held that in the absence of a defense request for continuance, a presumption of an Article 10, UCMJ, violation will exist when pretrial confinement exceeds 3 months. The court stated that the presumption once imposed, would place a heavy burden on the government to show diligence and, in the absence of such a showing, the charges should be dismissed. In the case of United States v. Driver,2 the 3-month rule was changed to 90 days.

In addition, when a presumption of an Article 10 violation has been raised, the government must demonstrate that really extraordinary circumstances beyond such normal problems as mistakes in drafting, manpower shortages, illnesses and leave contributed to the delay. Operational demands, a combat environment, or a convoluted offense are examples that might justify a departure from the norm.3

[851]*851The appellant was placed in pretrial confinement on 27 March 1975 and he continued in that status until the commencement of his trial on 16 July 1975, a period of 111 days.

Government appellate counsel urge that three periods of time during the pretrial processing of the case should be charged to the appellant.

The first period involves the trial defense counsel’s request to the Article 32 investigating officer to delay his report for a period of 7 days in order that a report of psychiatric testing could be included in the investigating officer’s report.

The psychiatric evaluation was conducted at the request of the appellant’s battalion commander. A written report was not initially made concerning that examination. However, following the defense counsel’s request, a report of sorts was completed and forwarded for inclusion in the file. The report did not raise any issues of mental competency or insanity nor does it appear that such was ever in fact, an issue of any merit.

We note that pursuant to the requirement of the UCMJ 4 the appellant was represented by counsel. He had the right “to present anything he might desire in his own behalf, either in defense or mitigation, . ”5 If the trial defense counsel believed the psychiatric evaluation was important, he should have had the matter ready to present at an appropriate time during the Article 32 proceeding. Accordingly, we conclude that the 7-days delay in the forwarding of the Article 32 report was properly chargeable to the defense.6

The second period of delay concerns a period of 14 days beginning on 3 June 1975 (69th day) and ending on 16 June (82nd day).

Routine, but somewhat slow, pretrial processing resulted in an Article 39(a) session being convened on 3 June 1975 at Port Wainwright, Alaska. Counsel for both the prosecution and the defense indicated they were ready for trial at which time the appellant made known his desires to have a named civilian counsel. At this hearing the military judge inquired of the trial defense counsel concerning whether he had advised the appellant of his rights to counsel. Trial defense counsel responded that he had, however, the appellant had advised him he didn’t fully understand those rights until the instant Article 39(a) session.7 The military judge directed the appointed defense counsel to contact the civilian counsel and determine whether that counsel would be available to represent the appellant. The defense counsel was directed to advise the court as soon as possible. A second Article 39(a) session was convened on 5 June 1975 to resolve the issue of appellant’s counsel.8 The appointed defense counsel advised the court that named civilian counsel was not available and he had contacted a second civilian attorney, however, the appellant could not meet that attorney’s fee requirements. The appellant advised the court that he would go to trial with the appointed defense counsel and requested a Captain W as individual military counsel. The military judge directed the request for individual counsel be placed immediately in military [852]*852channels. Trial counsel advised the court that he would take action that day to contact the JAG office at Fort Richardson by telephone to get a determination of Captain W’s availability. The appellant then requested a continuance for that purpose. The stipulation of fact indicates that the documentation concerning the appellant’s request for Captain W was not forwarded to the convening authority until eight days later on 13 June 1975. The convening authority denied the request on 17 June 1975. However, his decision was not communicated to the appellant until 23 June 1975, some 18 days after the initial request for Captain W was made at the Article 39(a) session on 5 June 1975.

Normally, the availability of requested counsel is handled verbally or by telephone followed by the forwarding of formal documents or messages for inclusion in the record at a later date. This type of action was contemplated by the trial counsel at the Article 39(a) session but for reasons unknown was not used. Here, the matter appears to have been handled formally. The convening authority, the appellant, and the requested counsel were all located at the same installation. There is no indication in the record that the convening authority or the requested counsel were unavailable during this particular period. We believe that an inordinate amount of time was consumed in determining the availability of Captain W.

Although the appellant had requested a continuance for the purpose of determining the availability of counsel, the government is still charged with the requirement of diligence in pretrial processing and is accountable for any dilatory actions which result in a longer delay that should otherwise occur.

Accordingly, we believe that the defense should be charged with the delay beginning on 3 June 1975 (the date of the first Article 39(a) session) and ending on 12 June 1975, a period of 10 days. We believe this period of time was more than adequate to determine whether Captain W was reasonably available under the factual situation in this case.

Lastly, government appellate counsel urge that a period of 17 days beginning on 21 June 1975 and ending on 7 July 1975 should be charged to the defense.

The record reflects that a list of courses available at The Judge Advocate General’s School was circulated in The Judge Advocate’s office at Fort Wainwright and all officers were advised to indicate their interest as some travel funds were available for that purpose. Appellant’s trial defense counsel indicated a desire to attend a course during the period in question.

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Related

United States v. White
22 M.J. 631 (U.S. Navy-Marine Corps Court of Military Review, 1986)
United States v. Butterbaugh
21 M.J. 989 (U.S. Navy-Marine Corps Court of Military Review, 1985)
United States v. Boehner
11 M.J. 658 (U.S. Army Court of Military Review, 1981)
United States v. Badger
7 M.J. 838 (U.S. Army Court of Military Review, 1979)
United States v. Furgason
6 M.J. 844 (U.S. Navy-Marine Corps Court of Military Review, 1979)

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Bluebook (online)
2 M.J. 849, 1976 CMR LEXIS 840, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-powell-usarmymilrev-1976.