Court Opinion

ID: 9837030
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-02 03:16:04.230163+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:45:19.933535
License: Public Domain

EFFRON, Judge
(concurring in part and in the result):
I write separately to address the majority’s views with respect to corroboration of appellant’s confession and the search of appellant’s barracks room.
The specified issue, which concerns corroboration of appellant’s confession, presents three questions. First, was there adequate corroborating evidence to support the admission of appellant’s confession? Second, was it error for the judge to enter a finding of guilty where the Government failed to introduce the corroborating evidence during its case-in-chief? Third, if there was such an error, did it materially prejudice the substantial rights of appellant?
In United States v. Duvall, supra, we held that corroborating evidence considered in determining the admissibility of a confession must be admitted on the merits so that the members may consider the corroborating evidence in deciding what weight to give the confession. 47 MJ 189, 192 (1997). In the present case, the government introduced corroborating evidence during proceedings on a defense motion to suppress the confession, but did not offer the same evidence during trial on the merits. Such an omission, in the absence of any other corroborating evidence introduced on the merits, would constitute error under Mil.R.Evid. 304(g), Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, 1984 (1998 ed.). See United States v. Duvall, supra. Duvall, however, involved a trial before a court-martial panel, in which the members had been deprived of the opportunity to weigh the corroborating evidence in determining the weight, if any, to be given to the confession. See 47 MJ at 192. Because the present case was a judge-alone trial, the same person — the military judge — heard the evidence on the motion and was responsible for deciding the issue of guilt or innocence on the merits. As a result, the judge heard all of the corroborating evidence during the hearing on the suppression motion. When rendering the guilty verdict at the conclusion of the merits portion of the trial, the judge incorporated by reference the evidence received during the hearing on the suppression motion. Under these circumstances, I conclude that any error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.
With respect to the granted issues concerning the search of appellant’s barracks room, I do not agree that this case requires us to reach or approve the practice of “external impoundment.” Under the facts of this case, there was no external impoundment of the premises. External impoundment involves securing unoccupied premises by preventing anyone from entering and destroying or removing evidence, usually while waiting for authorization to search. See, e.g., Segura v. United States, 468 U.S. 796, 104 S.Ct. 3380, 82 L.Ed.2d 599 (1984) (police secured premises and prevented persons from entering after taking occupants into custody and removing them from premises). In this case, the occupants remained in the room while military police prevented them from leaving; this was a lawful detention pursuant to probable cause.
As I agree that the initial entry into appellant’s room was based on probable cause and that 1LT Murrill did not lose his neutrality *253because of the entry, and additionally that the last entry into the room was authorized by CPT Johnson, I concur in the result reached by the majority on Issue V.