United States v. Clemons
United States Court of Military Appeals
16 M.J. 44 (C.M.A. 1983)
- Written by Salina Kennedy, JD
Facts
One evening, while Sergeant Michael W. Clemons (defendant) was on duty as charge of quarters, he entered an unlocked barracks room, took a television, and placed it in his office. Clemons also took a cassette player from a barracks latrine and placed it in his office. Clemons was tried by general court-martial for wrongful appropriation, larceny, and unlawful entry. At trial, Clemons admitted to taking the items but asserted that he had done so in performance of his duties as charge of quarters. Clemons maintained that he had taken the television both to secure it and to teach the room’s occupants a lesson about the need to lock their door and that he had taken the cassette player to secure it. The prosecution filed a motion in limine to prevent introduction of evidence of Clemons’s general good character. Clemons’s counsel argued that evidence of Clemons’s character was admissible because, pursuant to Military Rule of Evidence (MRE) 404(a)(1), it was pertinent to his defense theory. In support of his argument, Clemons’s counsel cited a case in which a federal circuit court held that a defendant’s character for lawfulness is admissible under MRE 404. The military judge allowed evidence of Clemons’s trustworthiness but disallowed evidence of his good military character and his character for lawfulness. The military judge reasoned that MRE 404 did not require the admission evidence concerning Clemons’s good military character or his character for lawfulness. Clemons was convicted of wrongful appropriation, larceny, and unlawful entry. The convening authority approved the findings, and the Court of Military Review affirmed. Clemons appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Fletcher, J.)
Concurrence (Cook, J.)
Concurrence (Everett, C.J.)
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