United States v. Walker

38 M.J. 678, 1993 CMR LEXIS 368, 1993 WL 339151
CourtU S Air Force Court of Military Review
DecidedSeptember 3, 1993
DocketACM 29820
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 38 M.J. 678 (United States v. Walker) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering U S Air Force Court of Military Review primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Walker, 38 M.J. 678, 1993 CMR LEXIS 368, 1993 WL 339151 (usafctmilrev 1993).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

YOUNG, Judge:

Our original opinion in this case was unpublished (ACM 29820, 26 August 1993). That opinion is hereby withdrawn.

A military judge sitting as a general court-martial convicted appellant of using and distributing marijuana, in violation of Article 112a, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 912a, and communicating threats to injure two persons, in violation of Article 134, 10 U.S.C. § 934. Appellant was acquitted of soliciting another to commit murder. The approved sentence consists of a bad-conduct discharge, confinement and forfeiture of $150 pay per month for 18 months, and reduction to airman basic (E-l). Appellant asserts that the military judge improperly denied his motion to dismiss the charges because the Security Police listened to telephone calls between appellant and his attorneys, restricted the number and length of such calls, and kept appellant in handcuffs during such calls; that a laboratory report was inadmissible hearsay and not properly authenticated; that the military judge committed prejudicial error by refusing to restrict trial counsel’s cross examination of the accused; and, that the evidence is factually insufficient to support the findings of guilty. We find the assigned errors to be without merit and affirm.

I. FACTS

On 28 May 1991, special agents of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) apprehended Lance Corporal Mitchell (USMC) for possessing cocaine and carrying a concealed pistol under his car seat. Mitchell confessed and agreed to assist the AFOSI in further drug investigations. The following day, Mitchell advised AFOSI agents that he had discussed with appellant the possibility of purchasing marijuana from him later that evening. After searching Mitchell and providing him funds with which to purchase the marijuana, AFOSI agents followed him to an off base apartment. There, Mitchell smoked marijuana with, and purchased marijuana from, the accused. During their meeting, appellant warned Mitchell that if he were an undercover agent, appellant would put a hole in his head. When Mitchell left the apartment, appellant accompanied him to the parking lot, where AFOSI agents saw him wearing red shorts.

In late June 1991, after being apprehended by AFOSI agents, appellant talked with Ms. Jacobs, a former coworker at appellant’s off-duty place of employment. He told her he had been “popped” by AFOSI for drug offenses, admitted he had committed the acts, and warned that if she had turned him in, he would kill her.

II. INTERFERENCE WITH ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP

On 26 August 1991, appellant was ordered into pretrial confinement by his commander. During his confinement, appellant was treated as a maximum security prisoner. He was permitted to make telephone calls to, and receive calls from, his [680]*680attorneys on extensions of telephone lines running directly to the security police desk. Unbeknownst to appellant or his attorneys until 17 October 1991, a tape machine continuously and automatically recorded the contents of every call from these three phone lines. While on the telephone, appellant was handcuffed and accompanied by security police escorts, who could overhear appellant’s statements to his attorneys. The number and length of his calls were severely restricted. Appellant was aware that the escorts were within earshot during his telephone calls, but never complained about it. At his arraignment, appellant moved to dismiss all charges and specifications alleging that the recording and overhearing by escorts of his attorney-client privileged telephone calls violated the accused’s rights to “confidentiality and attorney client privilege” under Mil.R.Evid. 502 and the Fifth and Sixth Amendments to the United States Constitution. After making extensive findings of fact, the military judge concluded that since no one had ever listened to the contents of appellant’s tape-recorded conversations with his counsel, appellant suffered no prejudice. However, the military judge did find that the security police escorts’ ability to overhear appellant’s conversations with his attorney prejudicially impeded the free flow of communications between attorney and client. Rather than dismiss the charges, the military judge ordered the following remedies:

1. So long as the accused remains in pretrial confinement, when he desires to have telephone conversations with his counsel he shall be provided a telephone free of any electronic eavesdropping devices.

2. The procedure of monitoring telephone conversations between the accused and his counsel by members of the confinement or corrections staff, by any means whatsoever, shall cease and desist.

3. Within 24 hours, all security police personnel are to be ordered that, if they participated in the monitoring of the accused’s telephone conversations with his attorney, they are to disclose what they heard, if anything, to no one. This could probably be most appropriately done during shift change. The next one, I understand is at 1600 hours. I want to make it clear this is to be in the form of an order from an appropriate officer or NCO. I would prefer it was an order from the commander.

4. Today, appropriate confinement and supervisory personnel will conduct a review of the accused’s conduct while in pretrial confinement these past two months to determine whether his treatment as a maximum security prisoner is still warranted. Within 24 hours of that review, a written report of that review, to include conclusions and disposition, will be provided trial counsel for inclusion in the record as an allied paper. A copy will be provided to the defense team.

5. Unless the defense requests they be preserved, the tape-recordings currently with the security police evidence custodian are to be erased immediately and a certificate provided to this court within 24 hours verifying such has been accomplished. The certificate will also be included as an allied paper, and a copy provided the defense.

6. Upon defense request, these proceedings will be delayed to provide the defense adequate time to prepare their case unencumbered by an intrusions into their privileged communications.

At the request of the defense, however, the military judge amended his order to preserve the recordings until all appellate measures are exhausted and granted the defense access to the tapes and a tape player on which to listen to them. He further granted the defense a delay until 5 November, later extended until 16 December 1991, to prepare its case unencumbered by the limitations and intrusions on attorney-client communications. In his assignment of error, appellant no longer separately asserts the recording of his phone calls was prejudicial error. However, since his brief suggests that the military judge’s findings in this matter were erroneous, we will review them as well.

[681]*681The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that an “accused shall enjoy the right ... to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.” Government interference with an accused’s right to counsel may require remedial action, but that does not necessarily require the dismissal of charges.

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Related

United States v. Pinson
54 M.J. 692 (Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals, 2001)
United States v. Tanksley
50 M.J. 609 (Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals, 1999)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
38 M.J. 678, 1993 CMR LEXIS 368, 1993 WL 339151, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-walker-usafctmilrev-1993.