United States v. Reichenbach

29 M.J. 128, 1989 CMA LEXIS 3561, 1989 WL 109553
CourtUnited States Court of Military Appeals
DecidedSeptember 25, 1989
DocketNo. 61504/AF; ACM 26857
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 29 M.J. 128 (United States v. Reichenbach) 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. Reichenbach, 29 M.J. 128, 1989 CMA LEXIS 3561, 1989 WL 109553 (cma 1989).

Opinions

Opinion of the Court

EVERETT, Chief Judge:

A military judge sitting alone as a general court-martial at Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas, tried appellant on two charges alleging drug offenses, in violation of Article 112a, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 USC § 912a. Reichenbaeh pleaded guilty to the original Charge, which alleged wrongful use of marijuana, cocaine, and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and wrongful distribution of cocaine. The second Charge — pleaded as an Additional Charge — alleged in specification 1 that “on divers occasions, between on or about 1 February 1987 and 19 September 1987,” appellant wrongfully used “a controlled substance analogue, known as ECSTASY, treated as a Schedule I controlled substance under Title 21, United States Code, section 813, to wit: an analogue of 3, 4 methylenedioxy amphetamine.” Specification 2, in similar language, alleged wrongful distribution of ECSTASY “between on or about 1 February 1987 and 23 September 1987.” A third specification alleged wrongful distribution of LSD.

After moving unsuccessfully to dismiss the first two specifications of the Additional Charge on the ground that they did not plead an offense, Reichenbaeh entered conditional pleas of guilty. Thereupon, the convening authority withdrew the LSD specification and deleted from the second specification an allegation that the distributions occurred on “divers occasions.” The military judge entered findings pursuant to the pleas of guilty and sentenced Reichenbach to a bad-conduct discharge, confinement for 17 months, total forfeitures, and reduction to the grade of airman basic. The convening authority approved the sentence; and the Court of Military Review affirmed in a short-form opinion. We granted review to determine whether appellant’s use and distribution of ECSTASY were offenses under Article 112a.1

I

A

We have discussed the status of drug offenses in the military as follows:

The Uniform Code [as of 1982] eontain[ed] no express prohibition of drug abuse; ...
Prosecution of drug offenses has been handled in these three ways: (1) Under the first two clauses of Article 134, [UCMJ, 10 USC § 934,] proscribing “disorders and neglects to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces” or “conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces”; (2) under the third clause of Article 134, which [130]*130prohibits “crimes and offenses not capital” and, in effect, incorporates other penal provisions of the United States Code; and (3) under Article 92, [UCMJ, 10 USC § 892,] as a violation of various service regulations concerning drug abuse.

United States v. Ettleson, 13 MJ 348, 358 (CMA 1982) (footnote and citation omitted).

To simplify and facilitate the prosecution of drug offenses,2 Congress in 1983 added to the Code Article 112a, which provides:

(a) Any person subject to this chapter who wrongfully uses, possesses, manufactures, distributes, imports into the customs territory of the United States, exports from the United States, or introduces into an installation, vessel, vehicle, or aircraft used by or under the control of the armed forces a substance described in subsection (b) shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
(b) The substances referred to in subsection (a) are the following:
(1) Opium, heroin, cocaine, amphetamine, lysergic acid diethylamide, methamphetamine, phencyclidine, barbituric acid, and marijuana and any compound or derivative of any such substance.
(2) Any substance not specified in clause (1) that is listed on a schedule of controlled substances prescribed by the President for the purposes of this article.
(3) Any other substance not specified in clause (1) or contained on a list prescribed by the President under clause (2) that is listed in schedules I through V of section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812).

The Controlled Substances Act referred to in Article 112a(b)(3) was enacted by Congress in 1970 as the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act, Pub.L. No. 91-513, Title II § 101 et seq., 84 Stat. 1236, 1242 (1970).3 Among other things, this Act authorized the Attorney General— after providing the “opportunity for a hearing pursuant to the rule-making procedures prescribed by” the Administrative Procedure Act, see 21 USC § 811(a) — to establish “five schedules of controlled substances, to be known as schedules I, II, III, IV and V,” see 21 USC § 812.

Findings are required for each of the schedules. See 21 USC § 812(b). For example, to be placed in schedule I, there must be these findings:

[131]*131(A) The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.
(B) The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.
(C) There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision.

For schedule II, the required findings are:

(A) The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.
(B) The drug or other substance has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States or a currently accepted medical use with severe restrictions.
(C) Abuse of the drug or other substances may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.

Schedules III, IV, and V require findings that the drug or other substance has less potential for abuse than the drugs or other substances in schedules I and II; that it has “a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States”; and that it tends to lead to less physical and psychological dependence than is true of the drugs and substances in the lower-numbered schedules.

When Congress originally enacted the Controlled Substances Act, it listed a variety of substances under the five schedules. For example, the list under schedule I included heroin, marijuana, and lysergic acid diethylamide. In subsequent years, the Attorney General has added controlled substances to the schedules pursuant to the authority delegated under 21 USC § 811.

Unfortunately, because of the ingenuity of drug dealers and underground chemists, hazardous substances have been placed in circulation which were not listed on the five schedules; and a substantial quantity of a new drug might be distributed before the Attorney General could comply with the procedures which 21 USC § 811(a) required for adding substances to the schedules. As Congress recognized:

Confined by Federal drug legislation that ties unlawful conduct to precise chemical definitions, law enforcement authorities have long found themselves at least one step behind drug dealers who possess certain rudimentary scientific abilities. Thus in the 1960’s certain mescaline derivates created great problems until controlled under the Drug Abuse Control Amendments and their successor legislation, the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

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

Related

United States v. Eppes
Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals, 2017
United States v. Specialist RONNIE M. ROGERS
Army Court of Criminal Appeals, 2015
United States v. Specialist GLENN M. BRADLEY
68 M.J. 556 (Army Court of Criminal Appeals, 2009)
State v. Harris
646 S.E.2d 526 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 2007)
State v. Harris
632 S.E.2d 534 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2006)
People v. BOULTINGHOUSE
36 Cal. Rptr. 3d 244 (California Court of Appeal, 2005)
United States v. Estes
62 M.J. 544 (Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals, 2005)
United States v. Erickson
61 M.J. 230 (Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 2005)
United States v. Finlayson
58 M.J. 824 (Army Court of Criminal Appeals, 2003)
United States v. Deserano
41 M.J. 678 (Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals, 1995)
United States v. Speer
40 M.J. 230 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1994)
United States v. Ventura
36 M.J. 832 (U.S. Army Court of Military Review, 1993)
United States v. Maio
34 M.J. 215 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1992)
United States v. Galloway
34 M.J. 1017 (U.S. Army Court of Military Review, 1992)
United States v. Evans
33 M.J. 309 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1991)
United States v. McGuinness
33 M.J. 781 (U.S. Navy-Marine Corps Court of Military Review, 1991)
United States v. Davis
32 M.J. 951 (U.S. Navy-Marine Corps Court of Military Review, 1991)
United States v. Kyle
32 M.J. 724 (U S Air Force Court of Military Review, 1991)
United States v. Lorenc
32 M.J. 660 (U S Air Force Court of Military Review, 1991)
United States v. Cerniglia
31 M.J. 804 (U S Air Force Court of Military Review, 1990)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
29 M.J. 128, 1989 CMA LEXIS 3561, 1989 WL 109553, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-reichenbach-cma-1989.