United States v. Townsend

46 M.J. 517, 1997 CCA LEXIS 72, 1997 WL 56935
CourtU S Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals
DecidedFebruary 7, 1997
DocketCGCMG 0048; Docket No. 981
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 46 M.J. 517 (United States v. Townsend) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering U S Coast Guard 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. Townsend, 46 M.J. 517, 1997 CCA LEXIS 72, 1997 WL 56935 (uscgcoca 1997).

Opinions

O’HARA, Judge:

This case is presently before this Court for a third time. When this 1991 general court-martial, composed of a military judge alone, was reviewed earlier pursuant to Article 66, Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), 10 U.S.C. 866, this Court set aside a finding of guilty of rape, but affirmed the sole remaining conviction for violating a lawful general regulation1 in contravention of Article 92, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. 892, and affirmed a sentence to confinement for a year, reduction to pay grade E-l, and a bad conduct discharge. 34 MJ 882 (CGCMR 1992). Review was initially granted by the then Court of Military Appeals on other grounds. 36 MJ 221 (CMA 1992) (daily journal). Later, the appellant was given permission to raise for the first time the validity of the general regulation. 38 MJ 227 (CMA 1993) (daily journal). The Court of Military Appeals then granted review of the newly raised issue and remanded it to us for consideration in light of this Court’s decision in U.S. v. Webster, 37 MJ 670 (CGCMR 1993), affd on other grounds 40 MJ 384 (CMA 1994), which was decided subsequent to the initial review in this case. 39 MJ 37 (CMA 1993) (daily journal). In Webster, this Court had set aside convictions for violations of general regulations — one of the regulations being Coast Guard Personnel Manual 8-H-5 (Commandant Instruction M1000.6A) which proscribed inappropriate senior/subordinate relationships and was the basis for appellant’s regulation violation in this case. During the previous remand, this Court reaffirmed our original decision, notwithstanding the intervening Webster opinion, but divided as to the rationale. 39 MJ 784 (CGCMR 1994). On further review, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces set aside our 1994 decision and again remanded the case for further review. 43 MJ 205 (1995). Chief Judge Sullivan in the lead opinion held that this Court still needed to analyze the regulation, particularly with respect to the signing official. In his concurring opinion, Judge Cox opined that appellate government counsel’s failure to answer whether the order in question was a lawful general regulation suggested that it was not and, therefore, agreed that remand was appropriate to address the issue. In also concurring, Judge Wiss narrowly construed the judicial notice of the regulations taken at [519]*519trial, as not including whether the general regulation was issued by the appropriate official, and consequently was not an evidentiary issue which could be waived. Judge Crawford dissented because the issue had been waived. Judge Gierke also dissented because, in the absence of contrary evidence or a defense objection, judicial notice was sufficient proof of a valid general regulation.

During this latest remand, counsel initially failed to address the Commandant’s role, if any, in the issuance of the regulation, and we issued an order for additional information called for by our reading of our higher Court’s principal opinions. The appellant objected by a motion to reconsider our order, arguing that we should not consider new matters outside the record. The government agreed in part, but urged that judicial economy warranted making the materials part of the appellate record in light of the decision of the Court of Appeals in remanding the case. We denied appellant’s motion. Counsel then filed supplemental briefs and information as ordered2 and presented oral argument on the issues before us.

The Webster Decision

In U.S. v. Webster, 37 MJ 670 (CGCMR 1993), this Court did not apply waiver, even though the evidentiary issue was raised for the first time on appeal. In doing so, the Court was exercising its plenary review authority granted by Article 66(c), UCMJ, which permits us to decline to apply waiver when it is in the interest of justice. U.S. v. Claxton, 32 MJ 159, 162 (CMA 1991). The Webster Court was concerned with what it perceived as an apparent growing laxity in the issuance of Coast Guard-wide general orders and regulations. See also U.S. v. Heath, 39 MJ 1101, 1105 (CGCMR 1994) (Edwards, J., concurring). Besides declining to apply waiver, the Webster Court went further by looking behind the trial court’s taking judicial notice of the regulations. Without some assurances from the government as to the Commandant’s involvement in the issuance of the regulations, the Court, in its independent duty to examine the record3, set aside the convictions for a failure of proof under the circumstances. Therefore, it was not necessary for the Court to resolve the ultimate issue whether the regulations in question were general orders within the meaning of Article 92(1), UCMJ. It simply found that the government had not met its burden of proof in that particular case. The regulations still remained effective as general orders until properly challenged at trial and that challenge upheld on appeal.

Even before Webster was decided by this Court in 1993, appellate government counsel reminds us that the regulation in question in Webster and this case had been superseded. On 27 February 1992, the Acting Commandant personally signed Change 154 to the Coast Guard Personnel Manual, promulgating a total rewrite of Section 8-H as a punitive general order. That action removed any potential doubt that the general regulation governing inappropriate personal relationships was issued with the proper authority.5

[520]*520Applicability of Webster

When this case was remanded to us the first time, we were directed to consider the sufficiency of the evidence supporting appellant’s violation of the general regulation in light of the Webster decision. 39 MJ 37 (CMA 1993) (daily journal). We did and reaffirmed our original decision, notwithstanding the intervening Webster opinion, but divided as to the rationale. 39 MJ 784 (CGCMR 1994), set aside 43 MJ 205 (1995). The majority clarified that Webster was the exception, rather than the rule, in allowing a factual challenge, not raised at trial, to a judicially noticed general directive which was regular on its face. Unlike Webster, the question as to the regulation was not raised in this case when it was originally before this Court on appeal. In fact, civilian appellate defense counsel at that time went so far as to concede the violation of the regulation during oral argument. There were also the normal concerns about narrowing issues and finality in the appellate process. In the majority opinion, all of these factors counseled against taking the exceptional step of revisiting a conviction already found to be factually and legally sufficient. The concurring judge opined that Webster was erroneously decided to the extent that it did not apply waiver because of appellant’s failure to raise the issue at trial.

The decision in Webster on the general regulations was based upon the specific circumstances of that case and is, therefore, not determinative of this case. Factual challenges to general orders and regulations normally must be properly preserved at trial to be considered on appeal. Facially valid general orders and regulations usually do not warrant the exceptional step by this Court of declining to apply waiver and demanding evidence beyond unobjeeted-to judicial notice.

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Related

United States v. Moore
55 M.J. 772 (Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals, 2001)
United States v. Townsend
49 M.J. 175 (Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 1998)
United States v. Madigar
46 M.J. 802 (U S Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals, 1997)
United States v. Townsend
46 M.J. 517 (U S Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals, 1997)

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Bluebook (online)
46 M.J. 517, 1997 CCA LEXIS 72, 1997 WL 56935, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-townsend-uscgcoca-1997.