Opinion ID: 1186195
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Third Issue: Are Defendants' courts-martial valid under Ammons?

Text: Morley claims his court-martial is constitutionally infirm on its face, precluding its use in sentencing. James also argues his court-martial is unconstitutional, such that the sentencing court should not have used it to increase James' offender score. Both Defendants' arguments essentially rely on the rule of law as stated in State v. Ammons, 105 Wash.2d 175, 187-88, 713 P.2d 719, 718 P.2d 796 (1986): We hold that the State does not have the affirmative burden of proving the constitutional validity of a prior conviction before it can be used in a sentencing proceeding. However, a prior conviction which has been previously determined to have been unconstitutionally obtained or which is constitutionally invalid on its face may not be considered. See In re Bush, [26 Wash. App. 486,] 497-98[, 616 P.2d 666 (1980), aff'd, 95 Wash.2d 551, 627 P.2d 953 (1981) ]; United States v. Tucker, 404 U.S. 443, 92 S.Ct. 589, 30 L.Ed.2d 592 (1972); Burgett v. Texas, 389 U.S. 109, 88 S.Ct. 258, 19 L.Ed.2d 319 (1967). Constitutionally invalid on its face means a conviction which without further elaboration evidences infirmities of a constitutional magnitude. Morley claims his court-martial is facially unconstitutional because courts-martial lack the following constitutional entitlements: 1. No guarantee of a jury of 12. 2. No guarantee of a jury of at least 6. 3. No requirement of unanimity in the verdict of a jury. 4. No provision for a jury of one's peers. 5. No provision for an impartial jury. 6. No random selection of jury members. 7. No meaningful decision between bench and jury trial. Br. of Appellant at 38-39. It is true a jury in a general court-martial is required to have only five members, or jurors, U.C.M.J. article 16, 10 U.S.C. § 816(1)(A), but the panel may be larger. It is also true the members do not have to be unanimous for noncapital cases. A conviction requires three-fourths majority for sentences longer than 10 years, and two-thirds majority for lesser offenses. U.C.M.J. article 52, 10 U.S.C. § 852. Morley's observations involving the role of a jury in a court-martial proceeding are immaterial to his particular court-martial: Morley expressly waived his right to be tried by a jury, and he voluntarily submitted his trial to a military judge. Given that he was tried by a military judge, the alleged differences between military and civilian juries are irrelevant. Morley has not pointed to any facially unconstitutional aspect of his particular court-martial. The State's rebuttal of Morley's argument thoroughly demonstrates this: Facially invalid means a conviction which without further elaboration evidences infirmities of a constitutional magnitude. Ammons, 105 Wash.2d at 188 [713 P.2d 719]. Here, defendant argues that the court martial is invalid because he did not receive a jury trial. But, here, the record shows that defendant personally made and signed a written request for bench trial after (1) being informed who the judge would be, (2) consulting with counsel, and (3) being informed of his right to trial by a court martial panel. 1 CP 29, Appendix A. This written request for bench trial would satisfy Washington's procedure for jury waiver under CrR 6.1(a) and art. 1, sec. 21 of the Washington Constitution. When the record contains a written waiver complying with CrR 6.1(a), there is sufficient demonstration of a valid jury waiver. State v. Harper, 33 Wash. App. 507, 509, 655 P.2d 1199 (1982). Accordingly, defendant fails to show facial invalidity of the court martial. Br. of Resp't at 26-27 (footnote omitted). James similarly misplaces his constitutional challenge. His claim of unconstitutionality also rests on differences in the military jury system, but this argument is even less persuasive in James' situation. James pleaded guilty to all the charges in his court-martial, and he has not pointed to any unconstitutional aspect of the proceedings whereby he entered his guilty plea and was sentenced. See State v. Aronson, 82 Wash. App. 762, 766, 919 P.2d 133 (1996) (Aronson's guilty plea made many of the constitutional protections inapplicable). The State's argument is persuasive: Under Washington law, a guilty plea must be knowing, intelligent, voluntary and made with knowledge that certain rights are waived. State v. Branch, 129 Wash.2d 635, 642, 919 P.2d 1228 (1996). Those rights are: (1) the right to a jury trial; (2) the right to confront one's accusers; and (3) the right to remain silent. Branch, 129 Wash.2d at 644 n. 4, 919 P.2d 1228. Here, the record of defendant's guilty pleas demonstrates that the defendant was aware of and waived his right to a jury trial. EX 2 (Appendix B-5). The defendant was also aware of and waived the following rights: (1) the right to plead not guilty; (2) the right to have the prosecution prove the crimes beyond a reasonable doubt; (3) the right to remain silent; (4) the right to have the judge determine guilt; and (5) the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses against him. EX 2 (Appendix B-9 to B-10). Defendant's pleas, even if measured by Washington law, are clearly constitutionally valid. Reply Br. and Resp. to Cross Appeal at 22-23. The trial court also verbally stated similar findings on the constitutionality of James' court-martial. Neither Defendant was tried by a military jury, so we need not address whether a military conviction by a nonunanimous five-member jury would satisfy Ammons. Both Defendants have failed to establish the facial invalidity of their courts-martial. Defendants implicitly urge this court to reject all courts-martial as prior convictions because courts-martial are not held to the same constitutional standards as are civilian criminal convictions. Certain differences do exist between courts-martial and civilian criminal trials. The Fifth Amendment expressly exempts military cases from its scope, but it is not clear how far that exemption reaches. See, e.g., Middendorf v. Henry, 425 U.S. 25, 43, 96 S.Ct. 1281, 1291, 47 L.Ed.2d 556 (1976) (We recognize that plaintiffs, who ... are due to appear before a summary court-martial, may be subjected to loss of liberty or property, and consequently are entitled to the due process of law guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment.); see also Weiss v. United States, 510 U.S. 163, 176, 114 S.Ct. 752, 760, 127 L.Ed.2d 1 (1994) (Congress, of course, is subject to the requirements of the Due Process Clause when legislating in the area of military affairs, and that Clause provides some measure of protection to defendants in military proceedings.). Even though military proceedings are exempted from the Fifth Amendment, Congress has nonetheless provided an extensive list of rights for military personnel accused of a crime, as observed by Commonwealth v. Smith, 528 Pa. 380, 598 A.2d 268, 11 A.L.R.5th 989 (1991). Smith held a prior court-martial could be considered in sentencing the defendant as a recidivist. The court refuted the defendant's broad attack against the constitutionality of courts-martial: Appellant contends in his brief that a court-martial is not a court proceeding designed to give the accused all those rights guaranteed an accused under the Federal Constitution and/or the Pennsylvania Constitution. Thus, he argues that the legislature may have concluded that a conviction rendered by a general court-martial tribunal should not be used for enhancement purposes for a subsequent state criminal offense because court-martial proceedings may not afford an accused all of those rights guaranteed an accused under our Federal Constitution. We disagree that general court-martial proceedings and civilian trials are so diverse as to render military convictions invalid for enhancement purposes. As Judge Montemuro so aptly stated in his opinion in this matter: The Uniform Code of Military Justice, which was in effect at the time the appellee was being prosecuted, provided a member of the armed forces with the following rights: no person may be apprehended unless the apprehending officer does so upon a reasonable belief that an offense has been committed and that the person apprehended committed it (10 U.S.C. § 807(b)); no person may be arrested or confined except for probable cause (10 U.S.C. § 809(d)); a person arrested or confined has the right to be informed of the accusations brought against him and the right to speedy resolution of those charges (10 U.S.C. §§ 830(b) and 810); an accused has a right to competent counsel (10 U.S.C. §§ 827(a) and 838); no person may be compelled to incriminate himself (10 U.S.C. § 831(a)); no person may be interrogated without first being informed of the nature of the accusation, of his right to silence, and that any statement he may make may be used against him at his court-martial (10 U.S.C. § 831(b)); information obtained in violation of § 831 is inadmissible at the court-martial (10 U.S.C. § 831(c)); an accused has the right to cross-examine adverse witnesses, to present a defense, and to a copy of the charges (10 U.S.C. § 832(b)); pre-trial, trial, and post-trial proceedings shall, as far as practical, conform to those principles of law and rules of evidence generally recognized in the trial of criminal cases in the United States District Courts (10 U.S.C. § 836); all court proceedings shall be made a part of the record and shall be in the presence of the accused and counsel (10 U.S.C. § 839(b)); no person may be tried a second time for the same offense (10 U.S.C. § 844); the accused may withdraw his plea prior to sentencing (10 U.S.C. § 845); the jury is instructed that the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and that this burden of proof is upon the United States (10 U.S.C. § 851); the accused has thirty days after sentence in which to request its reconsideration (10 U.S.C. § 860); and the accused has a right to appellate review with the aid of counsel (10 U.S.C. §§ 861 and 870). Smith, 598 A.2d at 272-73. The United States Supreme Court has also stated military courts are bound by the same fundamental concepts of fairness and justice: [T]he constitutional guarantee of due process is meaningful enough, and sufficiently adaptable, to protect soldiersas well as civiliansfrom the crude injustices of a trial so conducted that it becomes bent on fixing guilt by dispensing with rudimentary fairness rather than finding truth through adherence to those basic guarantees which have long been recognized and honored by the military courts as well as the civil courts. Burns v. Wilson, 346 U.S. 137, 142-43, 73 S.Ct. 1045, 1049, 97 L.Ed. 1508 (1953) (plurality opinion). Additionally, to ensure court-martial proceedings adhere to these basic principles, defendants have extensive rights to seek review of their courts-martial, 10 U.S.C. §§ 860, 864, 866-67, 869. A person wrongfully and unconstitutionally convicted by court-martial may also seek review by the United States Supreme Court either by certiorari, see, e.g., Davis v. United States, 512 U.S. 452, 114 S.Ct. 2350, 129 L.Ed.2d 362 (1994) (reviewing and affirming a defendant's life sentence on a conviction by court-martial for unpremeditated murdercertiorari was granted at 510 U.S. 942, 114 S.Ct. 379, 126 L.Ed.2d 329 (1993)), or by the federal writ of habeas corpus. See, e.g., Middendorf, 425 U.S. at 29, 96 S.Ct. at 1285 (reviewing a case which started as a class action writ of habeas corpus filed with a federal district court, where petitioners sought relief from their confinement as a result of summary courts-martial); see generally John E. Theuman, Annotation, Review by Federal Civil Courts of Court-Martial ConvictionsModern Cases, 95 A.L.R. Fed. 472 (1989). It becomes clear that, despite procedural differences between courts-martial and civilian criminal trials, courts-martial must still comport with basic constitutional guaranties and protections. If a court-martial complies with federal constitutional protections, nothing prevents a sentencing court from counting the court martial as a prior conviction for purposes of sentencing. Cf. In re Personal Restraint of Teddington, 116 Wash.2d 761, 772-73, 808 P.2d 156 (1991) (evidence obtained by federal officers, if consistent with federal constitutional standards, can be introduced in a Washington criminal trial since the state constitution has no control over federal action). In the analogous situation of using a prior court-martial conviction to establish habitual offender status, all but three states which have addressed the issue have allowed courts-martial to be considered. See Christopher Vaeth, Annotation, Use of Prior Military Conviction To Establish Repeat Offender Status, 11 A.L.R.5th 218 (1993). Defendants have failed to demonstrate any facial invalidity of their courts-martial. We find nothing constitutionally repugnant in the system of military courts-martial which would require us to exclude courts-martial from consideration under the SRA. We hold Defendants' courts-martial were properly included in their criminal histories.