United States v. Rogers

50 M.J. 805, 1999 CCA LEXIS 155, 1999 WL 346184
CourtUnited States Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals
DecidedMay 3, 1999
DocketACM 32711
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 50 M.J. 805 (United States v. Rogers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Air Force 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. Rogers, 50 M.J. 805, 1999 CCA LEXIS 155, 1999 WL 346184 (afcca 1999).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

YOUNG, Senior Judge:

Court members convicted the accused of conduct unbecoming an officer by engaging in an unprofessional relationship with a subordinate officer in his chain of command, and disorderly conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces. Articles 133 and 134, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. §§ 933, 934. He was sentenced to total forfeitures for 4 months and a reprimand. The convening authority disapproved that portion of the disorderly conduct specification alleging service-discrediting conduct, and reduced the sentence to forfeiture of $2,789 pay per month for 4 months.

Pursuant to Article 69(a), UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 869(a), the case was forwarded to The Judge Advocate General for review. See Rule for Courts-Martial (R.C.M.) 1201(b). The accused assigned several errors for review: (1) The specification alleging conduct unbecoming an officer fails to state an offense; (2) The evidence is legally insufficient to sustain the convictions; (3) The convening authority’s modification of the disorderly conduct offense was unlawful; and (4) Government misconduct resulted in a violation of due process. The Judge Advocate General referred the case to this Court, pursuant to Article 69(d), UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 869(d), and invited our attention to an additional issue: Does the offense of engaging in an unprofessional relationship with another officer require proof of a custom of the service or a violation of a regulation prohibiting such conduct? As this question is intertwined with the legal sufficiency issue, they will be discussed together. When reviewing cases referred to us under Article 69, UCMJ, we may take action only with respect to matters of law. Article 69(e), UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 869(e).

I. Failure to State an Offense

A Background

The specification of Charge II alleges that the accused did, “between on or about 20 November 1995 and on or about 18 December 1995, wrongfully and willfully develop an unprofessional relationship of inappropriate familiarity with First Lieutenant Julie Clemm, a subordinate under his command, which conduct under the circumstances was unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.” At trial and before us, the accused asserts that the specification does not state an offense because (1) it failed to allege that the accused’s conduct violated a custom of the service, and (2) it failed to identify any specific acts which amounted to displays of undue familiarity. We hold that the specification does state an offense.

B. Law

Under the early common law, an indictment had to charge an offense with precision and technical accuracy. Failure to strictly conform to the formal pleading requirements led to dismissal of the charge. 41 Am. Jur.2d, Indictments and Informations § 90 (1995). The modern practice is not so strict.

The rigor of old common-law rules of criminal pleading has yielded, in modern practice, to the general principle that formal defects, not prejudicial, will be disregarded. The true test of the sufficiency of an indictment is not whether it could have been made more definite and certain, but whether it contains the elements of the offense intended to be charged, “and sufficiently apprised the defendant of what he must be prepared to meet, and in case any other proceedings are taken against him for a similar offense, whether the record shows with accuracy to what extent he may plead a former acquittal or conviction.”

Hagner v. United States, 285 U.S. 427, 431, 52 S.Ct. 417, 76 L.Ed. 861 (1932) (quoting Cochran v. United States, 157 U.S. 286, 290, 15 S.Ct. 628, 39 L.Ed. 704 (1895)). Accord Hamling v. United States, 418 U.S. 87, 117, 94 S.Ct. 2887, 41 L.Ed.2d 590 (1974).

The military is a notice-pleading jurisdiction. See United States v. Sell, 11 C.M.R. [807]*807202, 206, 1953 WL 2005 (C.M.A.1953) (quoting Hagner, 285 U.S. at 431, 52 S.Ct. 417, but without citation); United States v. Calamita, 48 M.J. 917, 920 n. 1 (A.F.Ct.Crim.App.1998), pet. denied, — M.J. — (1999); United States v. Smith, 40 C.M.R. 432, 436 (A.B.R. 1968); United States v. Wright, 35 C.M.R. 546, 551, 1964 WL 4964 (A.B.R.1964); United States v. Wheeler, 27 C.M.R. 888, 892, 1959 WL 3699 (N.B.R.1959). We have followed “the modern tendency ... toward allowing the pleading of legal conclusions and the elimination of detailed factual allegations from counts charging misconduct.” United States v. Williams, 31 C.M.R. 269, 271, 1962 WL 4409 (C.M.A.1962). See United States v. Alcantara, 40 C.M.R. 84, 1969 WL 6012 (C.M.A.1969) (holding a larceny specification alleging the theft of not further described “foodstuffs” was sufficiently definite to allege an offense).

In the military, a specification informs an accused of the allegations against him. The President has defined the specification as “a plain, concise, and definite statement of the essential facts constituting the offense charged. A specification is sufficient if it alleges every element of the charged offense expressly or by necessary implication. No particular form is required.” R.C.M. 307(c)(3).

The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces has fashioned a three-pronged test for determining whether a specification states an offense. The specification must provide “(1) the essential elements of the offense, (2) notice of the charge, and (3) protection against double jeopardy.” United States v. Dear, 40 M.J. 196, 197 (C.M.A. 1994). Because these specifications were challenged at trial, we must examine them more critically than if the challenge was first raised on appeal. United States v. French, 31 M.J. 57, 59 (C.M.A.1990).

C. Discussion

The essential elements of the offense of conduct unbecoming an officer are: “(1) That the accused did or omitted to do certain acts [wrongfully and willfully develop an unprofessional relationship of inappropriate familiarity with First Lieutenant Julie Clemm, a subordinate under his command]; and (2) That, under the circumstances, these acts or omissions constituted conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.” Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (MCM), Part IV, ¶ 59b (1995 ed.).

The President has explained the offense of conduct unbecoming an officer under Article 133 as follows:

Conduct violative of this article is action or behavior in an official capacity which, in dishonoring or disgracing the person as an officer, seriously compromises the officer’s character as a gentleman, or action or behavior in an unofficial or private capacity which, in dishonoring or disgracing the officer personally, seriously compromises the person’s standing as an officer.

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Related

United States v. Nance
67 M.J. 362 (Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 2009)
United States v. Mead
63 M.J. 724 (Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals, 2006)
United States v. Rogers
54 M.J. 244 (Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 2000)

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Bluebook (online)
50 M.J. 805, 1999 CCA LEXIS 155, 1999 WL 346184, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-rogers-afcca-1999.