United States v. Redding

11 M.J. 100, 1981 CMA LEXIS 14580
CourtUnited States Court of Military Appeals
DecidedJune 8, 1981
DocketNo. 38,437; Misc. No. 80-48
StatusPublished
Cited by46 cases

This text of 11 M.J. 100 (United States v. Redding) 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. Redding, 11 M.J. 100, 1981 CMA LEXIS 14580 (cma 1981).

Opinions

OPINION OF THE COURT

COOK, Judge:

By Certificate for Review1 and a Petition for Extraordinary Relief in the Nature of Mandamus and Appeal from Adverse Decision of the United States Navy Court of Military Review,2 the Government challenges the legality of a ruling by the trial judge of a general court-martial which rejected a command determination that a military lawyer requested by the accused under Article 38(b), Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. § 838(b), was unavailable to serve as accused’s individual military counsel. The issues were briefed and argued, along with a motion by the respondent to dismiss the Certificate for Review.

I

THE MOTION TO DISMISS THE CERTIFICATE FOR REVIEW

Under Article 67(b)(2) and (d), UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 867(b)(2) and (d), the Judge Advo[103]*103cate General of a service is empowered to order sent to this Court “all cases reviewed by a Court of Military Review” for review of “issues raised by him.” In substance, Judge Redding contends that a case within the phrase “cases reviewed” means one that has been tried in an inferior tribunal of the military justice system — a court-martial— and has resulted in a conviction and approval by the requisite command authority, with a sentence that requires referral to the Court of Military Review under Article 66(b), UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 866(b), or is a court-martial conviction reviewable by the Judge Advocate General and referred by him to the Court of Military Review, as provided by Article 69, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 869. Since the proceeding for extraordinary relief was initiated directly in the Court of Military Review, Judge Redding maintains that the court’s disposition of it was a decision in the first instance, not a review of a court-martial adjudication.

As Judge Redding does not oppose the Government’s right to appeal the Court of Military Review’s decision and the issues of the appeal comprehend those of the Certificate, a favorable decision on his motion to dismiss would not affect review of the merits. That circumstance would, normally, incline us to pass over the motion. See United States v. Tavares, 10 U.S.C.M.A. 282, 283, 27 C.M.R. 356, 357 (1959). However, the increasing number of proceedings for extraordinary relief, in the service appellate courts manifests a need to determine whether the certificate authority provided by Article 67 extends to an application for extraordinary relief from a court-martial action at the command level that is not subject to the regular review prescribed by the Code. In this situation deferral of decision merely to conserve judicial time would be inappropriate.

Under the Uniform Code, “judicial or quasi-judicial” courts-martial actions are taken at three levels: the command or trial level; the review level of the accused’s service; and in this Court. United States v. Reeves, 1 U.S.C.M.A. 388, 390, 3 C.M.R. 122, 124 (1952). Viewing the word “review” in the light of courts-martial practice previous to the Uniform Code, it unquestionably meant the examination of the record of a court-martial in which the accused had been tried and convicted. That meaning is plainly reflected in the word as it appears in the Uniform Code3 and in the Manuals for Courts-Martial4 promulgated by the President since the Code’s enactment. The definition of the term “reviewing authority” in dictionaries of military terms in common use after enactment of the Code reflects that meaning. For example, Dahl and Whelan, The Military Law Dictionary 138 (1960), defines a reviewing authority as a “[p]erson or appellate agency who must approve and affirm the findings and sentence of a court-martial before sentence may be carried out.” See Dictionary of United States Army Terms 451 (AR 310-25, June 1, 1972); The United States Air Force Dictionary 442 (1956); and The New Military and Naval Dictionary 219 (1951). However, since shortly after the Code became operative, increasingly, persons have sought extraordinary relief from court-martial actions at the trial level that are unreachable through the regular channels of review. See generally Soriano v. Hosken, 9 M.J. 221, 224 (C.M.A.1980) (Cook, J., dissenting), and McPhail v. United States, 1 M.J. 457 (C.M. A.1976). As such applications proliferated in the courts of review, this Court added new rules of practice for an appeal from an adverse determination. Later, the Court formally ruled that Courts of Military Review are “empowered to provide extraordi[104]*104nary relief.” Dettinger v. United States, 7 M.J. 216, 219 (C.M.A.1979). This proceeding provides the first occasion to consider whether final action by a Court of Military Review on a petition for extraordinary relief from a trial court ruling constitutes a “case” reviewed within the meaning of Article 67(b)(2) and qualifies the proceedings for certification to this Court by the Judge Advocate General. We now hold that proceedings of the kind in issue are certifiable.

Conceptionally, a proceeding for extraordinary relief is separate from a court-martial trial in which a conviction has resulted. Such a proceeding may concern issues wholly unrelated to guilt. In Fleiner v. Koch, 19 U.S.C.M.A. 630 (1969), for example, a writ of prohibition was granted by this Court to prevent trial of the petitioner for an offense over which the military had no jurisdiction. Furthermore, the standards for award of relief on appellate review of a court-martial conviction are different from those governing extraordinary relief. Dettinger v. United States, supra at 217. Still, the juristic process of examining trial proceedings of a conviction subject to review as prescribed by the Uniform Code is the same as that required as regards a trial forum action that is subject to scrutiny by a higher court on application for extraordinary relief. In both instances, the process qualifies as a “review” of what was done in the trial forum, as that word is commonly understood.

Turning to whether the proceedings here constitute a “case,” we note at the outset that the word was variable meanings, depending upon the context of its use.5 As used in Article 67(b)(3), it does not include “an interlocutory, nonappealable order.”6 An erroneous determination that requested counsel is unavailable does not preclude a court-martial from proceeding with the trial; in other words, the determination does not deprive the court-martial of jurisdiction. United States v. Johnson, 23 U.S.C.M.A. 148, 48 C.M.R. 764 (1974). See Soriano v. Hosken, supra at 225 (Cook J., dissenting), and United States v. Batts, 3 M.J. 440 (C.M.A.1977). In the event of conviction, however, the accused can, on appellate review, assert the adverse determination as error justifying reversal of his conviction. United States v. Quinones, 1 M.J. 64 (C.M.A.1975). As to an accused, therefore, a determination of unavailability is interlocutory in nature. See United States v. Best, 6 U.S.C.M.A. 39, 44, 19 C.M.R. 165, 170 (1955).

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Bluebook (online)
11 M.J. 100, 1981 CMA LEXIS 14580, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-redding-cma-1981.