United States v. Williams

17 M.J. 207, 1984 CMA LEXIS 22337
CourtUnited States Court of Military Appeals
DecidedFebruary 21, 1984
DocketNo. 42,639; CM 440077
StatusPublished
Cited by47 cases

This text of 17 M.J. 207 (United States v. Williams) 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. Williams, 17 M.J. 207, 1984 CMA LEXIS 22337 (cma 1984).

Opinion

Opinion of the Court

EVERETT, Chief Judge:

On September 17, 1980, appellant was tried at Fort Hood, Texas, by a general court-martial composed of officers. The charge, preferred under Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. § 934, contained a single specification, which alleged:

In that Private First Class Michael A. Williams [appellant], US Army, Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 4th Squadron 9th Cavalry, 6th Cavalry Brigade (Air Combat), did, at Fort Hood, Texas, a military installation, on or about 0200 hours, 16 July 1980, wrongfully and unlawfully kidnap the person of Private El Warren S. Nipper, in violation of 18 United States Code, § 1201(a)(2).

(Emphasis supplied.) Appellant was found guilty as charged and was sentenced to a dishonorable discharge, confinement at hard labor for 5 years, total forfeitures, and reduction to the grade of E-l. The findings and sentence were approved by the conven[209]*209ing authority and, in turn, affirmed by the Court of Military Review.

This Court granted review to consider:

WHETHER THE EVIDENCE WAS SUFFICIENT TO ESTABLISH- THAT THE KIDNAPPING CHARGED UNDER 18 U.S.C. § 1201(a)(2) OCCURRED WITHIN THE SPECIAL MARITIME AND TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED STATES (18 U.S.C. § 7).

After initial briefing and oral argument in this Court, we ordered a hearing pursuant to United States v. DuBay, 17 U.S.C.M.A. 147, 37 C.M.R. 411 (1967). 14 M.J. 428 (C.M.A.1983). That hearing was conducted and the record thereof has been authenticated and returned to this Court. Further briefs and oral argument have been considered, and now the case is ready for final disposition.

I

In an Article 39(a)1 session prior to trial, defense counsel explained that “the big issue in this case is whether or not the offense took place on or off post”; and he contended “that it is an essential element that the abduction took place on post.” Trial counsel responded that

the Government realizes that there is going to be a jurisdictional question here, and we have no problem whatsoever with permitting the panel to make the decision as to whether or not the incident occurred on or off post. In fact, that is what the Government expected [to be] one of the issues that the panel would have to decide in this case.

The military judge then remarked:

All right, normally, jurisdiction is not a question — a legal question for the members of the court, however, where it’s a factual question as to the location of the particular area, then it would go to the members of the court—

When trial began, Private Warren Nipper, the alleged victim, testified that about 1:00 a.m. on July 16, 1980, he left his barracks to get some cigarettes. He went over to a bowling alley about 1500 meters away, but it was closed. As he walked back to his barracks, two black men in a Lincoln Continental told him to stop; since one of them had a pistol, Nipper complied with the request and then got into the back seat of the car. They drove off post to the Tip Top Grocery, where Nipper was allowed to leave the car. Meanwhile, the two men had taken his wallet and his watch. According to the witness, appellant was the driver of the car, and about a week later, he identified a picture of Williams at the Killeen, Texas, Police Department.

Sergeant John Warford, a Killeen police officer, corroborated the testimony of Nipper that about a week after the kidnapping he had picked out appellant’s photograph from a group of others. Private Thomas Rondeau testified that, after he had gone to downtown Killeen on the night of July 15, two black men had robbed him of his Lincoln automobile, money, and other property. In the course of this incident, one of the two men had “said that he wanted to go on or near ... [Fort Hood] to rob a ‘white soldier.’ ” Rondeau could only identify William Lane as one of the two men who “took off with” his car, and he testified that Lane had been the driver at the time. On cross-examination, Rondeau added that in a conversation between the two men about committing a robbery, one of them had suggested that they go on post, but the other remonstrated “that they shouldn’t go on post because, you know, they had a good chance of getting caught by the military police.” It was not Lane, but the other man, “who made ... [the] statement about going on post and robbing a ‘white soldier.’ ”

Testifying in his own defense, appellant acknowledged that he had seen Nipper in Killeen early on the morning of July 16, when Nipper had asked for a ride. “Lane was driving the car and I was a passenger.” Williams asked Nipper if he had any money and he replied in the negative. Then Nipper pulled out his wallet, which was empty [210]*210of money; and he also had no watch or any jewelry. Appellant and Lane — neither of whom had a pistol — finally dropped Nipper off and just drove away. Williams used various diagrams to describe where the events had taken place off post.

The defense rested, after which, during an Article 39(a) session, the judge took judicial notice of 18 U.S.C. § 1201 at the Government’s request. Then trial counsel argued to the court members that appellant and Lane had kidnapped Nipper at Fort Hood, driven him “to a small grocery store parking lot, directly on the Killeen side of the Fort Hood/Killeen border,” and then “proceeded to rob him.” Contrariwise, defense counsel contended that the only contact between Nipper and appellant had occurred off post.

In instructing the members of the court, the judge explained that they must be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt:

First, that at Fort Hood, Texas, on or about the 16th of July of 1980 about 0200 hours, that the accused unlawfully kidnapped a Private E-l Warren S. Nipper; Secondly, that this kidnapping was against the will of Private Nipper;
Third, that the kidnapping was accomplished by pointing a pistol at him and requiring him to enter a vehicle which transported him some distance away; Fourth, that this kidnapping was for the purpose of robbing Private Nipper, or for any other purpose as far as that goes; and
Finally, that under the circumstances, the conduct of the accused would be to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the Armed Forces or of such a nature as to tend to bring discredit upon the Armed Forces.

(Emphasis supplied). The judge also advised:

The term “kidnap” as used in this Specification means to forcibly and unlawfully carry away another person and to detain, keep or confine that person against his will. There is no length of time involved. Any detention or period of detention, no matter how brief, would suffice for the purposes of this particular offense. The phrase “against the will of the victim” means that the kidnapping must have been involuntary, or coerced. Now, this coercion must be accompanied by the willful intent to confine, detain or keep the victim.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
17 M.J. 207, 1984 CMA LEXIS 22337, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-williams-cma-1984.