United States v. Webb

38 M.J. 62, 1993 CMA LEXIS 115, 1993 WL 389442
CourtUnited States Court of Military Appeals
DecidedSeptember 27, 1993
DocketNo. 68,059; CMR No. 8903194
StatusPublished
Cited by38 cases

This text of 38 M.J. 62 (United States v. Webb) 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. Webb, 38 M.J. 62, 1993 CMA LEXIS 115, 1993 WL 389442 (cma 1993).

Opinions

Opinion of the Court

CRAWFORD, Judge:

On September 9, 11, and 12, and October 1-4, 1989, appellant was tried by a general court-martial composed of officer and enlisted members. Contrary to his pleas, appellant was found guilty of assault consummated by a battery and housebreaking with intent to peep, in violation of Articles 128 and 130, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 USC §§ 928 and 930, respectively. Appellant was sentenced to a bad-conduct discharge, confinement for 2 years, and reduction to El. The convening authority approved the sentence. On February 24, 1992, the Court of Military Review affirmed the findings of guilty and the sentence in an unpublished opinion. On December 29, 1992, this Court granted review of the following issues:

I
WHETHER TRIAL COUNSEL IMPROPERLY COMMENTED ON THE RIGHT OF THE ACCUSED TO REMAIN SILENT AND UNFAIRLY ATTEMPTED TO SHIFT THE BURDEN OF PROOF WHEN HE CALLED THE MEMBERS’ ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT THE DEFENSE HAD FAILED TO OFFER EVIDENCE OF APPELLANT’S ALIBI DEFENSE AS PROMISED BY THE DEFENSE IN THEIR OPENING STATEMENT.
II
WHETHER THE MILITARY JUDGE ERRONEOUSLY PERMITTED SECOND LIEUTENANT [¶] TO IDENTIFY APPELLANT AS HER ASSAILANT.
Ill
WHETHER THE EVIDENCE IS INSUFFICIENT TO PROVE APPELLANT’S GUILT BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT (THE SPECIFICATION OF CHARGE I [HOUSEBREAKING]).

FACTS

The following facts were noted by the court below:

On 24 March 1989, 2d Lieutenant H returned to her billets in Yongsan, Korea, after the morning physical training formation. As she prepared to shower, she went into a storage room opposite the shower room in the female officers’ billets intending to iron a uniform to wear that day. In the storage room, she encountered a male who struck her. She screamed and flailed at him with an iron that she had been carrying. He knocked her down and then fled. At a lineup, she [64]*64tentatively identified the appellant, but “was not 100% sure.”

Unpub. op. at 1-2.

To contradict evidence of a nefarious intent, appellant presented several witnesses who offered testimony of his outstanding duty performance and that the charged offenses were inconsistent with appellant’s peaceful, law-abiding nature.

At appellant’s trial, the pertinent jury instructions as to the elements of the offense of housebreaking with intent to peep were as follows:

Now, proof that the accused actually committed or even attempted the offense of, for a better term, acting as a peeping Tom, is not required. However, you must be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused intended each and every element of that offense at the time of the unlawful entry. These elements would be as follows: First, that at the time and place alleged the accused was disorderly in that he secreted himself within the utility room of Building 4033 which was then occupied by female servicemembers and that he did that with the intent to willfully look at nude female servicemembers not his wife without authority and while they were private therein [sic]. The court is also advised that, with regard to this particular element, is that looking out of a store room door, if that in fact occurred, is wrongful if it’s done for the purpose of observing female persons therein even if they were not actually observed. The second element of that offense would be that under the circumstances such conduct was to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces. The court is also advised that the offense of housebreaking requires an unlawful entry into a building, or structure and a building includes a house, a room, a store, an office building or an apartment building, or a structure such as Building 4033.

The military judge also instructed the members on the lesser-included offense of unlawful entry. Concerning the element of intent, the military judge further stated:

I have instructed you with respect to the Specification under Charge I that there is a requirement that there be the intent to commit a criminal offense therein and that particular element must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Direct evidence of intent is often unavailable. The accused’s intent, however, may be proved by circumstantial evidence.

At a session under Article 39(a), UCMJ, 10 USC § 839(a), counsel moved to suppress 2LT H’s out-of-court and in-court identifications of appellant. The litigation of this motion comprised over 100 pages of the trial record. The military judge suppressed 2LT H’s in-court identification of appellant but permitted testimony of her out-of-court identification. The military judge was unable to pin counsel down about his specific objection as to the out-of-court identification and finally concluded that, since appellant was represented by counsel at the lineup, the objection was ostensibly a limited due-process challenge.

Four days after 2LT H was assaulted in her barracks, the Office of the Criminal Investigation Command (CID) conducted three' lineups. These lineups consisted of appellant and five other individuals who were required to wear the same clothing as appellant, including the pile cap. Each were identified only by numbers 1—6, which changed at each lineup, although the same six individuals participated in each of the three lineups. While it was not clear whether the attacker wore the pile cap pulled down over his eyes and buttoned under his chin at the time of the incident, all six individuals in the lineup were required to wear their pile caps pulled down over their eyes and buttoned. The other five individuals in the lineup were of the same race as the accused and approximately of the same height and weight.

2LT H was not told who was going to be in the lineup and was instructed not to identify anybody unless she was “100 percent sure.” When she requested to see a side profile, all six individuals were asked [65]*65to turn to the side. There is no indication that anybody in the lineup was asked to speak.

Appellant was represented by counsel at the lineup. No objection to the lineup was made; in fact, that counsel indicated in his notes that it was “[n]ot a bad lineup.” Defense counsel’s notes were used to cross-examine 2LT H at trial about her identification of appellant. In the first lineup, 2LT H at trial indicated she was “100 percent sure” it was not four of the six individuals. The notes reflect that she thought it could be number 3 or 4; appellant was number 4. In the second lineup 2LT H identified number 6, appellant. In the third lineup 2LT H identified number 2 or 5; appellant was number 2. 2LT H stressed a number of times she was not 100 percent certain about her identification of appellant, but as she was driven home by one of the CID agents she indicated that she was sure “in her heart” that her attacker was appellant.

To ensure the jury understood its role, the judge instructed the court members on the uncertainty or unreliability of eyewitness identification and that such testimony should be scrutinized with care, following the model instruction in the bench book1 taken from United States v. Telfaire, 469 F.2d 552, 558 (D.C.Cir.1972).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
38 M.J. 62, 1993 CMA LEXIS 115, 1993 WL 389442, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-webb-cma-1993.