Case Name: UNITED STATES, Appellee v LYNN L. FANNIN, Airman Third Class, U. S. Air Force, Appellant
Court: United States Court of Military Appeals
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 1959-01-09
Citations: 10 C.M.A. 135
Docket Number: No. 12,244
Parties: UNITED STATES, Appellee v LYNN L. FANNIN, Airman Third Class, U. S. Air Force, Appellant
Judges: Judge LatimeR concurs.
Reporter: Decisions of the United States Court of Military Appeals
Volume: 10
Pages: 135–136

Head Matter:
UNITED STATES, Appellee v LYNN L. FANNIN, Airman Third Class, U. S. Air Force, Appellant
10 USCMA 135, 27 CMR 209
No. 12,244
Decided January 9, 1959
Lieutenant Colonel Robert O. Rollman and Captain Norman J. Nelson were on the brief for Appellant, Accused.
Lieutenant Colonel Robert W. Michels and Major Timothy G. O’Shea were on the brief for Appellee, United States.

Opinion:
Opinion of the Court
ROBERT E. Quinn, Chief Judge:
The president of the special court-martial which convicted the accused, on his plea of guilty, of several offenses under the Uniform Code, did not instruct the members on the maximum limits of punishment. This was error. United States v Turner, 9 USCMA 124, 25 CMR 386. The staff judge advocate in his post-trial review discussed the effect of the error. He noted the substantial difference between the aggregate punishment for the offenses and the maximum sentence power of the special court-martial, He also observed that defense counsel, a lawyer certified under Article 27 (b) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 USC § 827, "participated" in an open court discussion on the maximum amount of forfeitures which could be imposed. He concluded that the failure to instruct on the limits of punishment did not prejudice the accused. We agree with this conclusion. United States v Reid, 10 USCMA 71, 27 CMR 145.
Accordingly, the decision of the board of review is affirmed.
Judge LatimeR concurs.