United States v. Scheffer

41 M.J. 683, 1995 CCA LEXIS 36, 1995 WL 13542
CourtUnited States Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals
DecidedJanuary 5, 1995
DocketACM 30304
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 41 M.J. 683 (United States v. Scheffer) 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. Scheffer, 41 M.J. 683, 1995 CCA LEXIS 36, 1995 WL 13542 (afcca 1995).

Opinions

OPINION OF THE COURT

YOUNG, Judge:

Contrary to his pleas, appellant was convicted of making and uttering 17 checks, totaling over $3,300, without sufficient funds in his account, wrongfully using methamphetamine, failing to go to his appointed place of duty, and a 13-day unauthorized absence. Articles 123a, 112a, and 86, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. §§ 923a, 912a, 886 (1988). Court members sentenced him to a bad-conduct discharge, confinement for 30 months, total forfeitures, and reduction to E-l. Appellant assigns three errors: (1) the military judge erred by refusing to admit into evidence the results of appellant’s exculpatory polygraph examination; (2) the charges should have been dismissed for lack of a speedy trial; and (3) appellant is entitled to 5 days credit because his pretrial confinement was not reviewed by a neutral and detached magistrate within 48 hours of incarceration. We order appellant be given credit for 1 day of illegal pretrial confinement. We find no error which affects the findings or sentence.

I. Admissibility of Polygraph Results A Facts

Appellant, apparently on his own initiative, agreed to assist the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) with drug investigations. His AFOSI handlers advised appellant that from time to time they would ask him to provide urine specimens to be tested for drugs and to submit to polygraph examinations. On 7 April 1992, AFOSI Special Agent Shilaikis asked appellant if he would consent to a urinalysis. Appellant agreed, but declined to provide a urine sample until the following day. He claimed he only urinated one time a day, and he had already done so. He asked for, and received, permission to continue his undercover work that evening. The following day, he provided a urine specimen. On 10 April 1992, appellant took an AFOSI polygraph. During the ex-[686]*686aminatíon, appellant answered “no*’ to the following relevant questions:

(1) Since you’ve been in the AF, have you used any illegal drugs?

(2) Have you lied about any of the drug information you’ve given OSI?

(3) Besides your parents, have you told anyone you’re assisting OSI?

The examiner opined that appellant’s polygraph charts “indicated no deception to the above questions.” On approximately 14 May 1992, the AFOSI agents learned appellant’s urine specimen had tested positive for methamphetamine.

B. The Issue

At trial, appellant moved to admit the results of the polygraph despite the proscription of Mil.R.Evid. 707; the prosecution objected. The military judge ruled that the Constitution did not prohibit the President from promulgating a rule excluding polygraph evidence from admission in trials by courts-martial, and he denied appellant’s request to lay a foundation for its admission. Appellant testified on his own behalf and denied knowingly using methamphetamine.

MiLR.Evid. 707 provides:

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the results of a polygraph examination, the opinion of a polygraph examiner, or any reference to an offer to take, failure to take, or taking of a polygraph examination, shall not be admitted into evidence.
(b) Nothing in this section is intended to exclude from evidence statements made during a polygraph examination which are otherwise admissible.

According to the drafters’ analysis, Mil. R.Evid. 707 is based on the following policy grounds: (1) the “danger court members will be misled by polygraph evidence that ‘is likely to be shrouded with an aura of near infallibility’ ” (quoting United States v. Alexander, 526 F.2d 161, 168-69 (8th Cir.1975)); (2) “to the extent that the members accept polygraph evidence as unimpeachable or conclusive, despite cautionary instructions from the military judge, the members’ ‘traditional responsibility to collectively ascertain the facts and adjudge guilt or innocence is preempted’” (Id.); (3) the danger of confusion of the issues which “could result in the court-martial degenerating into a trial of the polygraph machine”; (4) presentation of polygraph evidence “can result in a substantial waste of time when collateral issues regarding the reliability of the particular test and qualifications of the specific polygraph examiner must be litigated in every case”; (5) “[t]he reliability of polygraph evidence has not been sufficiently established and its use at trial impinges upon the integrity of the judicial system.” Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, 198b, App. 22 at A22-46 (1994 ed.); see United States v. Helton, 10 M.J. 820 n. 10 (A.F.C.M.R.1981) (concise description of the complex combination of theory, precise measurement techniques, and subjective interpretation required to support validity of polygraph).

C. Presidential Authority to Promulgate MilR.Evid. 707(a)

The Constitution vests in Congress the power to make rules “for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval forces.” U.S. Const, art. I, § 8, cl. 14. The Constitution also gives Congress the power to make all laws necessary to execute this power. U.S. Const, art. I, § 8, cl. 18. Congress executed this power by enacting the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). In the UCMJ, Congress delegated to the President the authority to prescribe the modes of proof before trials by courts-martial, “in regulations, which shall, so far as he considers practicable, apply the principles of law and the rules of evidence generally recognized in the trial of criminal cases in the United States district courts, but which may not be contrary to or inconsistent with [the UCMJ].” Article 36(a), UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 836(a) (1994). Article 36(a) is unquestionably a valid Congressional delegation. See United States v. Smith, 13 U.S.C.M.A. 105, 32 C.M.R. 105, 118-19, 1962 WL 4459 (1962); accord United States v. Weiss, 36 M.J. 224, 238 (C.M.A.1992) (Crawford, J., concurring in the result), aff'd, — U.S. -, 114 S.Ct. 752, 127 L.Ed.2d 1 (1994).

Pursuant to Article 36(a), UCMJ, the President promulgated Mil.R.Evid. 707, and the [687]*687Manual for Courts-Martial in which it is found. See Exec.Order No. 12,767, 56 Fed. Reg. 30,284 (1991). Thus, the question we must resolve is rather narrow in scope. It is not whether polygraph examinations should be admissible in trials by courts-martial, but whether the President may constitutionally prohibit their admission.

“ ‘[0]ne of the first principles of constitutional adjudication [is the] basic presumption of the constitutional validity of a duly enacted state or federal law.’ ” Lemon v. Kurtzman, 411 U.S. 192, 208, 93 S.Ct. 1463, 1473, 36 L.Ed.2d 151 (1973) (quoting San Antonio School District v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 1, 60, 93 S.Ct. 1278, 1311, 36 L.Ed.2d 16 (1973) (Stewart, J., concurring)). We must accord Mil.R.Evid. 707, and all other provisions of the Manual for Courts-Martial, the force of law, unless it conflicts with the UCMJ. Noyd v. Bond, 395 U.S.

Related

United States v. Scheffer
523 U.S. 303 (Supreme Court, 1998)
United States v. Baker
45 M.J. 538 (Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals, 1996)
United States v. Scheffer
44 M.J. 442 (Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 1996)
United States v. Lamb
44 M.J. 779 (Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals, 1996)
Chatwin v. Davis County
936 F. Supp. 832 (D. Utah, 1996)
United States v. Nichols
42 M.J. 715 (Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals, 1995)

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