United States v. Small

United States Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals·Decided March 6, 2018·No. ACM S32426·Unpublished

Opinion

U NITED S TATES AIR F ORCE C OURT OF C RIMINAL APPEALS

No. ACM S32426

UNITED STATES

Appellee

v.

Paul N. SMALL

Staff Sergeant (E-5), U.S. Air Force, Appellant

Appeal from the United States Air Force Trial Judiciary Decided 6 March 2018

Military Judge: Francisco Mendez. Approved sentence: Bad-conduct discharge, reduction to E-3, and a reprimand . Sentence adjudged 26 May 2016 by SpCM convened at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. For Appellant: Major Kevin R. Cayton, USAF; Major Jarett F. Merk, USAF. For Appellee: Lieutenant Colonel Joseph J. Kubler, USAF; Lieutenant Colonel G. Matt Osborn, USAF; Major Mary Ellen Payne, USAF; Major Meredith L. Steer, USAF; Gerald R. Bruce, Esquire. Before JOHNSON, MINK, and DENNIS, Appellate Military Judges. Senior Judge JOHNSON delivered the opinion of the court, in which Judge MINK and Judge DENNIS joined.

This is an unpublished opinion and, as such, does not serve as precedent under AFCCA Rule of Practice and Procedure 18.4.

JOHNSON, Senior Judge:

A military judge found Appellant guilty, in accordance with his pleas, of two specifications of absenting himself from his place of duty, two specifications of failure to go to his place of duty, one specification of dereliction of duty, one specification of making a false official statement, one specification of drunk driving, one specification of wrongful appropriation of nonmilitary property of a value of under $500.00 on divers occasions, one specification of disorderly conduct, and one specification of incapacitation for the performance of his duties due to previous overindulgence in alcohol or drugs, in violation of Articles 86, 92, 107, 111, 121, and 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), 10 U.S.C. §§ 886, 892, 907, 911, 921, 934.1 A special court-martial composed of officer members sentenced Appellant to a bad-conduct discharge, reduction to the grade of E-2, restriction to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland for two months, and a reprimand. The convening authority approved only the bad-conduct discharge , reduction to the grade of E-3, and reprimand.

Appellant’s assignments of error enumerate the following issues for our consideration on appeal: (1) Whether Appellant was subjected to unlawful pretrial and post-trial restraint in violation of Article 13, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 813, Rule for Courts-Martial (R.C.M.) 304, and his constitutional rights, and whether the record of trial is complete; (2) Whether the court-martial promulgating order (CMO) contains an incorrect summary of the charges;2 and (3) Whether the military judge provided an improper sentencing instruction to the court members. We find no error materially prejudicial to Appellant’s substantial rights, and we affirm the findings and sentence.

I. BACKGROUND

Appellant served effectively in the emergency management career field until an acrimonious and protracted divorce led to financial and emotional difficulties that culminated in a series of finance-, alcohol-, and absence-related offenses. From March 2015 until August 2015, Appellant repeatedly misused

1 The wrongful appropriation was a lesser-included offense of a specification alleging larceny of nonmilitary property of a value of under $500.00 on divers occasions in violation of Article 121, UCMJ, to which Appellant pleaded not guilty. The Government declined to proceed on the greater charge of larceny, and the military judge entered a finding of not guilty as to that offense. 2 Appellant notes the CMO misidentifies the location from which Appellant absented himself as alleged in Specification 1 of the Additional Charge as “building 2565” vice “building 3465,” as charged, and contends a new CMO is required. The Government concurs, as do we. We direct corrective action in our decretal paragraph, and the issue requires no further discussion.

his Government Travel Card (GTC), apparently to pay for routine personal expenses . When Appellant’s first sergeant later questioned him about these transactions, Appellant falsely claimed he had not seen his GTC since he last traveled for temporary duty in the spring of 2015.

In August 2015, Appellant was stopped by a civilian police officer while driving under the influence of alcohol. Although initially cooperative, Appellant became noncompliant, struggled briefly with the officer, and was placed in handcuffs. Appellant then spat on the hood of the officer’s car.

In September 2015, Appellant reported for duty—specifically, to attend an Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment Program appointment— under the influence of alcohol. Appellant’s first sergeant took him first to security forces and then to the medical group to have his blood drawn. The first sergeant then took Appellant to Appellant’s work area and told him to remain there pending further instructions. However, shortly thereafter Appellant departed his work center and walked several miles to his off-base residence, evading his superiors’ efforts to find him. Appellant’s command finally located him that evening at his residence.

On 15 January 2016, Appellant failed to report for duty, remaining at his residence and refusing to answer the door for a supervisor until the supervisor gained entry with the assistance of the apartment manager. After this incident , Appellant’s first sergeant, with authority delegated by Appellant’s commander , issued Appellant a written order restricting him to Joint Base Andrews . Specifically, the order restricted Appellant to a particular dormitory room on the base until the conclusion of his pending court-martial. The order included a number of exceptions, including: performing official duties; going to the dining facility for a meal; going to the base exchange or commissary; going to the base fitness center; obtaining medical care, including dental and mental health services; meeting with his defense counsel; attending religious services on base or meeting with a chaplain; and meeting with the inspector general. The order further provided that other travel required approval from the first sergeant. The stated reasons for the order were “concern for [Appellant’s] wellbeing ” and “concern that [he] may engage in further criminal misconduct, to include the failure to appear at [his] trial.” The restriction was to last “until the conclusion of [Appellant’s] pending trial” unless Appellant was notified it was lifted or extended.

On both 11 and 12 February 2016, Appellant failed to report on time for his fitness assessment. Nevertheless, he was permitted to travel to New York for emergency leave from 8 to 24 March 2016 related to the terminal illness and funeral of his mother. Appellant returned from this leave on time and without incident and remained under the restriction until his court-martial 23–26 May 2016.

The Defense filed a pretrial motion for appropriate relief requesting the military judge grant some unspecified amount of credit against Appellant’s sentence because of the pretrial restriction. The Government opposed the motion . The military judge issued a written ruling denying the motion on 23 May 2016, the first day of Appellant’s trial. The military judge concluded that the imposition of the restriction, contrary to the Defense’s argument, was not a violation of Appellant’s rights to due process, nor did it constitute illegal pretrial punishment, nor was Appellant entitled to administrative credit against his sentence for restriction short of physical restraint.

At trial, after accepting Appellant’s pleas but before seating the court members , the military judge explored with the Defense whether Appellant had been subjected to illegal pretrial punishment forbidden by Article 13, UCMJ. Trial defense counsel affirmed that Appellant had not been so punished. Appellant agreed.

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

United States v. Small, (afcca 2018).

United States v. Small (United States v. Small) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

United States v. Pope
69 M.J. 328 (Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 2011)
United States v. Maynulet
68 M.J. 374 (Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 2010)
United States v. Hardison
64 M.J. 279 (Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 2007)
United States v. Fischer
61 M.J. 415 (Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 2005)
United States v. King
61 M.J. 225 (Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 2005)
United States v. Gaskins
72 M.J. 225 (Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 2013)
United States v. Leblanc
74 M.J. 650 (Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals, 2015)
United States v. Rendon
58 M.J. 221 (Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 2003)
United States v. Mosby
56 M.J. 309 (Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 2002)
United States v. Stoffer
53 M.J. 26 (Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 2000)
United States v. McClour
76 M.J. 23 (Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 2017)
United States v. Staton
68 M.J. 569 (Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals, 2009)
United States v. Palmiter
20 M.J. 90 (United States Court of Military Appeals, 1985)