Opinion ID: 184342
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Other Remedial Options Available to Specialist New

Text: 33 During the course of argument, New's counsel suggested that, absent consideration of his habeas petition, New would have no reasonable avenues of relief. We disagree. 34 After New disobeyed the disputed orders and was charged with violating Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, he faced three potential outcomes within the military system, two of which are still possible. First, the court-martial jury could have convicted him of failing to obey a direct, lawful order and incarcerated him in military prison, and the military authorities reviewing his case could have sustained this sentence. Obviously, in this scenario--which is now foreclosed by the fact that New was convicted and sentenced only to a bad conduct discharge as opposed to confinement--New could bring a habeas petition in federal district court challenging his conviction. See Burns v. Wilson, 346 U.S. 137, 139-42, 73 S.Ct. 1045, 1047-49, 97 L.Ed. 1508 (1953); Curry v. Secretary of the Army, 595 F.2d 873, 875 & n. 8 (D.C.Cir.1979); cf. Councilman, 420 U.S. at 747-48, 95 S.Ct. at 1307-08. 35 Second, New could have, and still might, prevail in his defense against the Article 92 charge. This outcome likely would render any claims in a habeas petition moot. 36 Finally, New still faces the possibility that the court-martial conviction and subsequent review by military tribunals and officials will result in an other than honorable discharge; this outcome, no doubt, would not vindicate all of the interests currently asserted by New. In these circumstances, New again has some options. If he suffers monetary losses as a result of his discharge, he may be able to collaterally attack the underlying conviction in the United States Court of Federal [327 U.S.App.D.C. 156] Claims. See Councilman, 420 U.S. at 748, 95 S.Ct. at 1308 (citing Runkle v. United States, 122 U.S. 543, 22 Ct.Cl. 487, 7 S.Ct. 1141, 30 L.Ed. 1167 (1887)); id. at 751, 95 S.Ct. at 1309-10; Matias v. United States, 923 F.2d 821, 822-25 (Fed.Cir.1990) (exercising jurisdiction over former service member's back pay claim challenging court-martial conviction); Bowling v. United States, 713 F.2d 1558, 1561 (Fed.Cir.1983). 37 New also might be able to bring an action in district court seeking nullification of the conviction underlying his bad conduct discharge. See Hatheway v. Secretary of the Army, 641 F.2d 1376, 1379 (9th Cir.1981) (The district court had equitable jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and mandamus jurisdiction under § 1361.); Kauffman v. Secretary of the Air Force, 415 F.2d 991, 994 (D.C.Cir.1969) (action to have court-martial conviction and sentence declared void); Williamson v. Secretary of the Navy, 395 F.Supp. 146, 147 (D.D.C.1975) (exercising jurisdiction to review court-martial under 28 U.S.C. § 1331, citing Kauffman ); 2 FRANCIS A. GILLIGAN & FREDRIC I. LEDERER, COURT-MARTIAL PROCEDURE § 26-11.00, at 181 (1991). 38 In delineating these scenarios, however, we do not mean to suggest that New's claims have merit or that a federal court would even reach the merits of his arguments. New argues on appeal, as he did in substantial part before the District Court, that the orders relating to his deployment and wearing of U.N. insignia were illegal on the grounds that: (1) the wearing of the insignia violates the United States Constitution's prohibition on office holders from accepting titles or offices from foreign states without Congressional consent, see U.S. CONST., art. I, § 9, cl. 8, and also violates federal law and military dress regulations; (2) the President did not have power under sections 6 and 7 of the Participation Act, 22 U.S.C. §§ 287d to d-1, to deploy U.S. soldiers as part of the U.N. Force without Congressional consent; and (3) the contested orders breached New's enlistment contract and deprived him of basic rights as a soldier and a citizen. 39 It is difficult to see how any of these allegations, even if shown to be true, would support New's contention that he is entitled to an honorable discharge from the military. New points to no legal authority supporting the proposition that unlawful orders potentially can transform a service member's status to that of a civilian. Indeed, as the District Court pointed out, case law suggests that military enlistment is a special sort of contract which changes the status, and where that is changed, no breach of the contract destroys the new status or relieves from the obligations which its existence imposes. United States v. Grimley, 137 U.S. 147, 151, 11 S.Ct. 54, 55, 34 L.Ed. 636 (1890); see Bell v. United States, 366 U.S. 393, 402, 81 S.Ct. 1230, 1235, 6 L.Ed.2d 365 (1961); New, 919 F.Supp. at 498. 40 In any event, questions related to the legality of the deployment of troops to Macedonia and the orders to wear U.N. accoutrements need not be reached in this appeal, because New has failed to exhaust his remedies for relief in the pending court-martial action.