Court Opinion

ID: 9836886
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-02 03:15:22.29145+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:45:19.153849
License: Public Domain

EFFRON, Judge, with whom COX, Senior Judge,
joins (dissenting):
As noted by the majority, the record indicates that appellant told a friend he was getting married “to move off base.” The Government also introduced evidence that appellant’s wife continued to live in the separate apartment she maintained prior to the marriage. The majority also notes that the defense introduced evidence that appellant and his wife spent weekends together, that appellant’s wife worked long hours in a day care center, and that she did not want to move from her apartment due to the long drive from the center to appellant’s duty station.
In an era of two-career relationships, the timing of marriage and the nature of marital living arrangements may be heavily influenced by such unromantic factors as tax laws, occupational benefits, and professional opportunities. Despite the relatively high volume of cases prosecuted in the military justice system involving the heterosexual activity of married servieemembers, there is little indication that heterosexual activity outside the marital relationship has led to allegations of “sham” marriages. As the majority notes, marital infidelity does not prove that a marriage is a sham.
In the present case, the infidelity relied upon by the prosecution during its case in rebuttal was different. The prosecution sought to discount appellant’s testimony through proof of his homosexual conduct.
In the armed forces, homosexuality is different from any other form of sexual activity. There is no requirement to discharge ser-vicemembers who engage in adultery, heterosexual sodomy, fraternization, sexual harassment, or child abuse. A person who engages in homosexual conduct, however, is subject to mandatory discharge, with very limited exceptions. 10 USC § 654(b). Congress, in enacting this mandatory discharge requirement, specifically found that “[t]he presence in the armed forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability.” Id. at § 654(a)(15).
The statutory findings underscore the high degree of antipathy to homosexuality in the armed forces. Under these circumstances, it is essential that military judges ensure that evidence of homosexuality not be introduced into a court-martial unless it is clear that the probative value substantially outweighs the danger of unfair prejudice. See Mil.R.Evid. 403.
In the present case, appellant sought to exclude evidence of his homosexuality. I agree with the majority that a sexual relationship that both pre-dates and post-dates a marriage, regardless of sexual orientation, is potentially relevant on the question of whether a marriage is a sham. Mere relevance, however, is not enough where there is a danger of unfair prejudice.
The majority takes comfort in the fact that the military judge gave a limiting instruction, that the two witnesses who described the homosexual relationships used non-inflamma*274tory language, and that only two of the six members of the court-martial panel expressed moral disapproval of homosexuality. However, the introduction of an inflammatory topic into a court-martial, even if done in a dispassionate manner, does not demonstrate that the evidence was more probative than prejudicial. Such a determination can be made only following a thorough explication of the pertinent facts and a careful balancing of the applicable factors on the record. As the majority notes, the military judge did not articulate on the record the factors he relied upon. Although in many circumstances it is possible for us to ascertain from the record the basis of the military judge’s ruling, this is not such a case. Given the extremely controversial and volatile nature of the evidence introduced by the prosecution, I would not engage in such speculation. I would reverse the decision of the court below and set aside the results of trial. If such evidence is to be used against appellant, it should be introduced only after a military judge has set forth on the record the specific factors balanced under Mil.R.Evid. 403.