United States v. Strong

1 C.M.A. 627, 1 USCMA 627
CourtUnited States Court of Military Appeals
DecidedAugust 27, 1952
DocketNo. 244
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 1 C.M.A. 627 (United States v. Strong) 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. Strong, 1 C.M.A. 627, 1 USCMA 627 (cma 1952).

Opinions

Opinion of the Court

Paul W. BROSMAN, Judge:

This case is before us on petition for review granted December 26, 1951, pursuant to the provisions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Article 67 (b) (3), 50 USC § 654. Petitioner was charged with absence without leave in violation of Article of War 61, 10 USC § 1533, and voluntary manslaughter in violation of Article of War 93, 10 USC § 1565. The specification of the first charge alleged that petitioner, a member of the 595th Engineer Dump Truck Company, absented himself from his organization without proper leave at Songwhan, Korea, from about May 29, 1951, until about June 18, 1951. The specification of the second charge alleged that petitioner feloniously, willfully, and unlawfully killed one Kwon Tai Hi by shooting him in the body with a carbine on or about May 29,1951, at or near Songwhan, Korea. Upon trial by general court-martial the accused pleaded not guilty to all charges and specifications but was found guilty as charged. He was sentenced to dishonorable discharge, total forfeitures, and confinement at hard labor for six years. The findings and sentence were approved by the convening authority, and affirmed without opinion by a board of review in the office of The Judge Advocate General, United States Army.

II

The record discloses that on May 29, 1951, the accused and two other soldiers, Corporal Frank Tyner and Private First Class Bernoff Norris, were working with a detail of Korean laborers in the vicinity of Songwhan, Korea. Corporal Tyner was in charge of the detail, which was engaged in spreading gravel on roads near Songwhan. During the lunch period the Korean group dispersed, and Corporal Tyner directed Private Norris to reassemble its members. Norris called to the men, but they did not heed his shouts. Corporal Tyner then ordered Norris to fire a warning shot to attract their attention. The latter did so and the Koreans began to return. After Norris fired, the accused also discharged his carbine. His shot was directed toward a group of Koreans, the bullet striking the ground between two of their number. Some two or three minutes later the corporal and Private Norris heard a further shot, after which the accused was seen running down the hill toward a Korean lying on the ground. When Corporal Tyner reached the Korean, petitioner told him that he had shot the man accidentally. It appears that the victim, one Kwon Tai Hi, was shot in the stomach. His death the following day was established through /stipulated medical testimony.

[631]*631The accused, after being advised of his rights as a witness, was sworn and testified that he was shooting at a magpie and accidentally struck one of two Koreans. He stated that before firing he looked to see if any persons were near, that he saw the victim walking in a field and another Korean running toward a path, but that he concluded he could fire at the magpie with safety. There is evidence that petitioner was unacquainted with the deceased, that he had never spoken to him, and that he had been in no difficulty with the deceased nor with any other member of the work party.

The order granting the accused’s petition for review limited briefs and argument to the following issues:

(1) Whether the evidence was sufficient as a matter of law to sustain the findings of guilty of voluntary manslaughter.
(2) Whether the failure of the law officer to instruct the court concerning the elements of the offense of voluntary manslaughter was error and prejudicial to the accused.
(3) Whether the evidence was sufficient as a matter of law to sustain the findings of guilty of absence without leave as alleged.

Ill

We shall first deal with the second issue mentioned above. The record shows that at the conclusion of arguments of counsel, the law officer instructed the court as follows with regard to the offense of voluntary manslaughter:

“The court is advised that the elements of the offenses are as follows:
“As to Charge II:
a. That the accused unlawfully killed a certain person named by certain means as alleged;
b. That the alleged victim, is dead;
c. That his death resulted from an injury received by him;
d. That such injury resulted from an act of the accused; and,
e. That death occurred within a year and a day of such act.
“For a discussion of the offense of voluntary manslaughter, the court is referred to paragraph 180a, Manual for Courts-Martial 1949, pages 233 and 234.”

Voluntary manslaughter is defined by the Manual for Courts-Martial, U. S. Army, 1949, paragraph 180a, as “. . . homicide caused by ah act likely to result in death, intentionally committed in the heat of sudden passion brought about by provocation.” It is apparent from a reading of the instructions quoted above that the law officer failed to afford the court complete instructions as to the elements of this offense. In view of the mandatory requirement of the Uniform .Code of Military Justice, Article 51(c), 50 USC § 626, that the law officer of a general court-martial instruct the court on the elements of the offense charged, in the presence of the accused and counsel, it is obvious that the law officer’s omission constitutes error. The Government concedes that the law officer neglected to instruct the court fully, but takes the position that this failure was not prejudicial to the accused’s rights because the court was referred to a full and complete Manual discussion of the offense charged. It is urged that this reference to the applicable subparagraph of the Manual constitutes compliance with the requirements of Article 51 (c), supra, and the Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, 1951, paragraph 73. In advancing this argument the Government relies heavily on the reasoning of United States v. Shepard, CM 347972, decided November 1, 1951. In this case an Army board of review held that the failure of the law officer to state the elements of the offense charged did not constitute prejudicial error inasmuch ás he referred the members of the court-martial to appropriate pages of the Manual for Courts-Martial, U. S. Army, 1949, where a treatment of the ingredients of the crime' might be found. The board went on to say in the Shepard case that:

[632]*632. . . It may be assumed that the court, pursuant to the law officer’s instructions, in its deliberations on the findings, acquainted itself with the elements of proof thereof.”

Appellate Government counsel also urges that the 1951 Manual indicates that the law officer — in addition to charging on the elements of the offense alleged, reasonable doubt and related matters — should further instruct the •members of the court-martial to .

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1 C.M.A. 627, 1 USCMA 627, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-strong-cma-1952.