7 M.J. 302 | United States Court of Military Appeals | 1979
Lead Opinion
Opinion
A military judge found Specialist Four Donald McConnico guilty of being an accessory after the fact, in violation of Article 78, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. § 878. Such a finding was contrary to the appellant’s pleas. The principal crime from which this accessory offense sprang was an assault with a dangerous weapon committed by a soldier named Per-due, in violation of Article 128, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 928. McConnico was sentenced at
The Government particularly charged the appellant with transporting Perdue by car away from the scene of a shooting in order to prevent or hinder the latter’s apprehension. In order to successfully prosecute such an accessory charge, it was incumbent upon the Government to establish as a necessary element of this offense the commission of the assault crime by the principal offender Perdue. See Article 78, UCMJ, and para. 157, Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, 1969 (Revised edition). To partially achieve this purpose, the trial counsel offered as evidence the purported confession of Perdue to the shooting. This confession also contained statements which directly implicated the appellant as an accessory after the fact. The foundation for the admission of the proffered evidence was the testimony of Agent Hart who related to the court the voluntary circumstances surrounding the making of this confession. Both parties before the military judge at this court-martial agreed that Perdue was unavailable to personally testify as to these matters because his own conviction was not yet final and he would refuse to testify at McConnico’s court-martial, relying on his privilege against self-incrimination.
Defense counsel at trial nonetheless objected to the introduction of this evidence on constitutional
The issue granted by this Court for consideration is:
WHETHER THE ACCUSED WAS DENIED HIS RIGHT OF CROSS EXAMINATION WHEN THE OUT OF COURT STATEMENTS OF THE ASSAILANT WERE ADMITTED AGAINST THE ACCUSED.
At the outset, it must be recognized that the rule against hearsay evidence and the Confrontation Clause are not congruous. California v. Green, 399 U.S. 149, 155-56, 90 S.Ct. 1930, 26 L.Ed.2d 489 (1970). The former is an evidentiary rule based on experience within a particular jurisdiction and grounded in the notion that untrustworthy evidence in a civil or criminal trial should not be presented to the trier of fact. See Chambers v. Mississippi, 410 U.S. 284, 298-99, 93 S.Ct. 1038, 1047, 35 L.Ed.2d 297 (1973). The Supreme Court has noted that within these jurisdictions:
A number of exceptions have developed over the years to allow admission of hearsay statements made under circumstances that tend to assure reliability and thereby compensate for the absence of the oath and opportunity for cross-examination. (Id.)
See also United States v. Johnson, 3 M.J. 143, 147 (C.M.A.1977). The latter, however, is a constitutional provision designed to prohibit in criminal trials “the practice of trying defendants on ‘evidence’ which consisted solely of ex parte affidavits or depositions” which deny “the defendant the opportunity to challenge his accuser in a face-to-face encounter
I
The first evidentiary issue to be resolved by this Court is whether para. 140a(6), Manual, supra, prohibits the use of Perdue’s confession in the government’s case-in-chief against the appellant. This Manual provision provides:
(6) Miscellaneous. A confession or admission not made as testimony in the trial is admissible for the purpose of proving the truth of the matters stated in the*306 confession or admission only when the person who made it is an accused in the case, and it is then admissible for that purpose only with respect to, and against, the accused who made it. These limitations do not apply, however, if the statement is admissible to prove the truth of the matters stated therein without regard to the fact that it is a confession or admission, as when in his testimony at a former trial of the accused an accomplice has made a confession damaging to the accused which is admissible as former testimony under 145 b.
At the court-martial, the Government offered this confession to establish the commission of the principal offense by Perdue, an essential element of the appellant’s prosecution as an accessory after the fact under Article 78, UCMJ.
It is clear that the introduction of a portion of Perdue’s confession brought before the court-martial hearsay evidence. See para. 139a, Manual, supra. However, not all hearsay evidence is barred from use at a court-martial if it is determined to fall within certain well-established exceptions to this general rule of evidence. The Manual lists the principal exceptions to this rule but it does not- presume to list all its exceptions. See United States v. Johnson, supra at 146 n. 3. “So far as not otherwise prescribed in the Manual, ‘the rules of evidence generally recognized in the trial of criminal cases in the United States district courts . will be applied by courts-martial.’ Paragraph 137, MCM; see United States v. Weaver, 23 U.S.C.M.A. 445, 450, 50 C.M.R. 464, 469, 1 M.J. 111, 116 (1975).” Id. Accordingly, the question is whether para. 140 a (6), Manual, supra, established a clear cut, definite and precise rule of evidence barring the use of this evidence for the limited purpose it was accepted by the military judge in the present case. See United States v. Smith, 13 U.S.C.M.A. 105, 109, 32 C.M.R. 105, 109 (1962).
To resolve this particular issue, it is first necessary to turn to the language of the provision itself. Its initial prohibitory language at first glance appears to be rather broad and to apply to the limited use of the confession in the case before us. Yet, the subsequent language indicates the rule is not absolute and its limitations not applicable in somewhat nebulously defined situations. In view of such equivocation, it is necessary to search the legislative history of the provision to find the intended meaning of its drafters. Here, it can be readily seen that the express purpose of the provision was to prohibit the use of such evidence to exculpate a military accused. See Legal and Legislative Basis, Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, 1951, p. 217, citing Donnelly v. United States, 228 U.S. 243, 272, 33 S.Ct. 449, 57 L.Ed. 820 (1913). In addition, the extremely scarce military case law as to this issue found no prohibition against the use of a confession of a principal to establish in a trial of an accessory the commission of a crime by the principal. See United States v. Cline, 20 C.M.R. 785 (A.F.B.R.1955), pet. denied 20 C.M.R. 398 (1955); United States v. Huff, 17 C.M.R. 677 (A.F.B.R.1954). In light of these past statements of military law, para. 140a (6), Manual, supra, need not be interpreted as an inflexible rule of evidence incompatible with the limited use of Perdue’s confession in the present case. See United States v. Smith, supra. Accordingly, as to the evidentiary issue raised herein, we must now
With some confusion the Government first attempts to justify the introduction of Perdue’s confession against the appellant as a matter of evidentiary law on the basis of the party-admission exception to the hearsay rule. See McCormick, Law of Evidence §§ 262-267 (2nd ed. 1972). In particular, it is asserted as a matter of military case law
The genesis in human experience justifying the party admission exception to the hearsay rule is not that such evidence constitutes a declaration against the confessor’s interest. See id. at §§ 1048-1049. Rather, this particular exception to the hearsay rule is based on some identity of interest or privity in obligation between the maker of the statement and the party sought to be bound. See id. at §§ 1076-1079. Such an identity of interest or mutuality of legal liability is defined in a criminal transaction as a matter of substantive criminal law in the jurisdiction and some evidence of the defendant’s cooperation with the principal generally must be furnished by the Government. Id. In the present case, the Government suggests in a pro forma manner that the confessor-principal Perdue and the defendant, accessory-after-the-fact McConnico, had a shared interest in the criminal venture of assault with a deadly weapon. No evidence, however, was offered to establish such a joint effort so as to bring Perdue’s confession within the ambit of this hearsay exception. See Hale v. United States, 25 F.2d 430 (8th Cir. 1928). Moreover, as a matter of military substantive law contained in the UCMJ, we find no support for equating the criminal liability of a principal
The Government later in its brief asserts that the written confession of Perdue is a declaration against his penal interest.
The basis of the [declaration against interest exception to the hearsay rule] is “the principle of experience that a statement asserting a fact distinctly against one’s interest is unlikely to be deliberately false or heedlessly incorrect, and is thus sufficiently sanctioned, though oath and cross-examina
II
After finding the admission of the challenged confession was in accordance with the rules of evidence applicable at this court-martial, a more significant constitutional question must be addressed. See Dutton v. Evans, supra 400 U.S. at 86, 91 S.Ct. 210. The precise issue
The starting point for such an analysis is the observation that the evidence in the present case did not directly identify or implicate the appellant as an accessory after-the-fact. It did, however, tend to establish a vital fact in the government’s case against him. No obviation of the appellant’s constitutional right to confront the witnesses against him is justified on this ground. See Kirby v. United States, 174 U.S. 47, 55-56, 19 S.Ct. 574, 43 L.Ed. 890 (1899). Yet, it must also be noted, “[t]he Confrontation Clause has never been held to bar the admission into evidence of every relevant extrajudicial statement made by a nontestifying declarant simply because it in some way incriminates the defendant.” See Parker v. Randolph, supra 99 S.Ct. at 2139. Accordingly, it is necessary to determine in the appellant’s case whether the admissible hearsay possesses the additional “indicia of reliability” required by the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amend
This case is different from the Bruton -type cases, because the hearsay statements considered in the appellant’s case are admissible against him under a recognized exception to the hearsay rule. Nevertheless, as indicated in California v. Green, supra at 156, 90 S.Ct. 1930, this fact does not automatically resolve the confrontation question. Moreover, the Supreme Court was particular in the Bruton case in intimating no view whatever that admission of such evidence under “[a] recognized exception to the hearsay rule” would “necessarily raise questions under the Confrontation Clause.” See Bruton v. United States, supra 391 U.S. at 128 n.3, 88 S.Ct. at 1624. While we agree that “the right to confront [witnesses] and to cross-examine [them] is not absolute,” Chambers v. Mississippi, supra 410 U.S. at 295, 93 S.Ct. at 1046, it is clear that any permissible restriction of this valuable constitutional right should be based on decisions emanating from the Supreme Court. Admittedly, that Court has held on a case-by-case basis that not all evidence admitted at a criminal trial under a recognized exception to the hearsay rule violated this constitutional provision. See Dutton v. Evans, supra, California v. Green, supra; Dowdell v. United States, 221 U.S. 325, 31 S.Ct. 590, 55 L.Ed. 753 (1911); Mattox v. United States, 156 U.S. 237, 240-244, 15 S.Ct. 337, 39 L.Ed. 409 (1895).
Ill
Accepting the argument of the appellant that he was denied the right to confront Perdue on the issue of the latter’s commission of the principal crime, it does not automatically follow that his conviction as an accessory after the fact must be overturned. See Motes v. United States, 178 U.S. 458, 476, 20 S.Ct. 993, 44 L.Ed. 1150 (1900). Under the facts and circumstances of this court-martial, we conclude there was no reasonable possibility
Accordingly, the decision of the United States Army Court of Military Review is affirmed.
. U.S.Const. amend. VI.
. See generally Westen, Confrontation and Compulsory Process: A Unified Theory of Evidence for Criminal Cases, 91 Harv.L.Rev. 567 (1978).
. Trial defense counsel particularly referred to para. 145, Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, 1969 (Revised edition).
. It must be pointed out that the placing of this portion of Perdue’s confession before the military judge for his ruling on its admissibility when he is later to be the ultimate finder of fact is materially different from the situation confronting the Supreme Court in Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123, 88 S.Ct. 1620, 20 L.Ed.2d 476 (1968). There, the inadmissible hearsay evidence was paraded before an impressionable jury under circumstances in which the Supreme Court felt instructions by the trial judge would not adequately safeguard the defendant’s right of confrontation. See Parker v. Randolph,-U.S.-, 99 S.Ct. 2132, 2137-38, 60 L.Ed.2d 713 (1979). We are not faced with such a situation involving the practical and human limitations of the jury system. See Bruton v. United States, supra 391 U.S. at 135-36, 88 S.Ct. 1620, cited in Parker v. Randolph, supra. In the appellant’s case, the portion of the statement found inadmissible was presented to a military judge who ruled in open court that he would not consider this portion of the confession in his deliberations on findings. A military judge is trained in the law of the evidence and is required to conduct a fair trial; accordingly, in the absence of some showing of abuse of his judicial role, it may be presumed that he acts as he says he will. See United States v. Graves, 1 M.J. 50, 53 (C.M.A.1975). In this context, the military judge’s ruling adequately safeguards the accused’s right to confrontation as to the unconsidered but displayed portion of this confession. Parker v. Randolph, supra.
. The issue of the sufficiency of the evidence to convict the appellant of the accessory after the fact offense was not granted for review. Accepting the fact that the inadmissible portion of Perdue’s confession may not be considered as to this issue, a review of the record of trial in light of Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60, 62 S.Ct. 457, 86 L.Ed. 680 (1941), indicates sufficient evidence, even as described by the dissent, to otherwise support this finding of guilty.
. See Mattox v. United States, 156 U.S. 237, 242-243, 15 S.Ct. 337, 39 L.Ed. 409 (1895).
. The evidentiary error must be tested for substantial prejudice under Article 59(a), Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. § 859(a). Any constitutional error of this nature must be examined under the more stringent standard stated in United States v. Moore, 1 M.J. 390, 392 (C.M.A.1976). See also Parker v. Randolph, supra 99 S.Ct. at 2141-43 (Blackmun, J., concurring in part).
. See para. 157, Manual, supra; Perkins, Criminal Law 578 (1957).
. No other Manual provision is applicable in the present case. Para. 140b, Manual, supra, is not controlling because there was no showing Perdue and McConnico were coconspirators or coaccuseds and in the accomplice situation, no conviction or plea of guilty was sought to be admitted. Para. 145b, Manual, supra, also is simply not relevant to Perdue’s refusal to testify in court.
. United States v. Cline, 20 C.M.R. 785 (A.F.B. R.1955), pet. denied 20 C.M.R. 398 (1955); United States v. Huff, 17 C.M.R. 677 (A.F.B.R. 1954).
. See Hale v. United States, 25 F.2d 430 (8th Cir. 1928).
. See Stewart v. People, 161 Colo. 1, 419 P.2d 650 (1966).
. Article 77, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 877.
. Article 78, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 878.
. Article 81, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 881.
. Notes of the Advisory Committee on Rules, Federal Rules of Evidence, Rule 801, 28 U.S.C.A., p. 531.
. See generally, 5 Wigmore, Evidence §§ 1475-1477 (3rd ed. 1940); Note: Declarations Against Penal Interest: Standards of Admissibility Under An Emerging Majority Rule, 56 Boston U.L.Rev. 149 (1976).
. See Notes of the Advisory Committee on Rules, Federal Rules of Evidence, Rule 804, 28 U.S.C.A., p. 697; United States v. White, 553 F.2d 310, 313 n. 4 (2nd Cir. 1977), cert. denied, 431 U.S. 972, 97 S.Ct. 2937, 53 L.Ed.2d 1070 (1977); United States v. Rogers, 549 F.2d 490, 498 n. 8 (8th Cir. 1976), cert. denied, 431 U.S. 918, 97 S.Ct. 2182, 53 L.Ed.2d 229 (1977).
. While Perdue might secure some benefit from the Government for his confession at his own trial, it would be only at the expense of his own conviction.
. See generally, Westen, supra (n. 2) at 582-86, and 613-28.
. The controlling but somewhat amorphous standard is whether the trier of fact has a satisfactory basis for evaluating the truth of the out-of-court statement. See Westen, supra (n. 2) at 586.
. See also cases cited in Westen, supra (n. 2) 601, n. 99.
. 1 accept this conclusion at the present time without deciding the issue, until more clear pronouncements in this area of constitutional law reach us from the Supreme Court.
. See Parker v. Randolph, supra 99 S.Ct. at 2138, n. 5, citing Brown v. United States, 411 U.S. 223, 93 S.Ct. 1565, 36 L.Ed.2d 208 (1973); Schneble v. Florida, 405 U.S. 427, 92 S.Ct. 1056, 31 L.Ed.2d 340 (1972), Harrington v. California, 395 U.S. 250, 89 S.Ct. 1726, 23 L.Ed.2d 284 (1969).
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting):
In the principal opinion, Chief Judge Fletcher holds that “it would be imprudent for this Court to definitively rule that the introduction of Perdue’s confession under the circumstances of the appellant’s case
My Brethren seem oblivious to the legal mischief which Perdue’s confession has wrought upon McConnico’s rights. First, the record reveals no direct evidence, other than Perdue’s confession, that McConnico drove Perdue away from the scene of the shooting or that he performed any other act which “receive[d], comfort[ed] or assist[ed]” Perdue “in order to hinder or prevent his apprehension, trial, or punishment.”
I
McConnico and Perdue were tried separately on charges resulting from an altercation between two groups of servicemen at Fort Benning, Georgia, at which time Per-due shot and injured another serviceman. Perdue was tried first and convicted of the offense of assault with a dangerous weapon. Subsequent to Perdue’s trial and conviction, McConnico was brought to trial on the charge of having been an accessory after-the-fact to assault with intent to commit murder, in violation of Article 78, Uni
Review of the evidence reveals that during much of the day prior to the shooting incident, Perdue had been driving McConriico’s automobile in and around Fort Benning. Shortly before the shooting incident, Perdue and McConnico were observed at the servicemen’s club. During a confrontation between two groups of men outside the club, a shot, injuring one serviceman, was fired, after which Perdue and an unidentified person got in McConnico’s automobile and drove away. Review of the record reveals that no witness testified as to who, Perdue or the other individual, drove the automobile from the scene of the shooting. Nor is there any other evidence of record to support that alleged fact, so essential to the finding of guilty. Moments later, the same automobile arrived at a barracks building some distance away from the shooting scene. No witness testified as to who drove the automobile to the barracks. Thereafter, Perdue, followed by McConnico, approached another serviceman, Hutchinson, and two female companions. Perdue displayed his pistol and admitted shooting a serviceman. An investigating officer testified during the trial that McConnico admitted to him that he (McConnico) was at the
The majority insist that the above facts, even absent Perdue’s statement, support McConnico’s conviction of the charged offense. I disagree. Absent Perdue’s statement, the record is devoid of any relevant evidence that McConnico committed conduct prohibited by the statute. Thus, he stands convicted without due process of law. Vachon v. New Hampshire, 414 U.S. 478, 94 S.Ct. 664, 38 L.Ed.2d 666 (1974); Douglas v. Buder, 412 U.S. 430, 93 S.Ct. 2199, 37 L.Ed.2d 52 (1973); Gregory v. Chicago, 394 U.S. 111, 89 S.Ct. 946, 22 L.Ed.2d 134 (1969); Adderley v. Florida, 385 U.S. 39, 87 S.Ct. 242, 17 L.Ed.2d 149 (1966); Thompson v. Louisville, 362 U.S. 199, 80 S.Ct. 624, 4 L.Ed.2d 654 (1960). As the Supreme Court teaches, “The ‘no evidence’ doctrine of Thompson v. Louisville thus secures to an accused the most elemental of due process rights: freedom from a wholly arbitrary deprivation of liberty.” Jackson v. Virginia, -U.S.-, pp.---, 99 S.Ct. 2781 p. 2787, 60 L.Ed.2d-(1979).
Nevertheless, my colleagues are persuaded that some evidence exists which tends to support the verdict of guilty, notwithstanding its paucity. See n. 3, supra. That evidence, however, does not constitute proof beyond a reasonable doubt that McConnico “receive[d], comfort[ed] or assisted]” Perdue “in order to hinder or prevent his (Perdue’s) apprehension, trial or punishment.” See n. 9, supra. See also In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 25 L.Ed.2d 368 (1970), in which the Court held that the Constitution protects a defendant in a criminal case from conviction “except upon proof beyond a reasonable doubt of every fact necessary to constitute the crime with which he is charged.” Id. at 364, 90 S.Ct. at 1073. See also Jackson v. Virginia, supra; Patterson v. New York, 432 U.S. 197, 97 S.Ct. 2319, 53 L.Ed.2d 281 (1977); Mullaney v. Wilbur, 421 U.S. 684, 95 S.Ct. 1881, 44 L.Ed.2d 508 (1975); Ivan v. New York, 407 U.S. 203, 92 S.Ct. 1951, 32 L.Ed.2d 659 (1972); Lego v. Twomey, 404 U.S. 477, 92 S.Ct. 619, 30 L.Ed.2d 618 (1972); United States v. Verdi, 5 M.J. 330 (C.M.A.1978). The Supreme Court reminds us that “[t]he Winship doctrine requires more than simply a trial ritual.” That doctrine, the Court teaches, requires “that the factfinder will rationally apply that standard to the facts in evidence.” It is recognized that
a properly instructed jury may occasionally convict even when it can be said that no rational trier of fact could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and the same may be said of a trial judge sitting as a jury. In a federal trial, such an occurrence has traditionally been deemed to require reversal of the conviction.
Jackson v. Virginia, supra - U.S. at -, 99 S.Ct. at 2788.
Thus, in my view, the military judge either failed to adhere to the limitations he himself imposed upon the consideration of Perdue’s statement (see n.7, supra) or he rendered a finding of guilty against McConnico upon less than proof beyond a reasonable doubt. In either event, McConnico’s conviction should not stand.
II
I agree that the Manual for Courts-Martial is the primary source of the rules of evidence for courts-martial. Article 36(a), UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 836. Several provisions of the Manual bear upon the admissibility of Perdue’s statement in this case. I will proceed to discuss them together with my views concerning their effect upon the admissibility of Perdue’s statement.
A. Paragraph 139a, Manual, supra provides that hearsay is not competent evidence and that it may not be admitted or considered.
the fundamental principle . . . that in a criminal prosecution the testimony of the witnesses shall be taken before the court, so that at the time they give the testimony offered in evidence they will be sworn and will be subject to cross-examination, the scrutiny of the court, and confrontation by the accused.
The rule is, of course, subject to certain well-established exceptions.
It cannot be disputed that Perdue’s statement establishing his misconduct as the principal offender is a written “statement” which was “offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matters stated therein.” Indeed, Perdue’s statement established conclusively that Perdue committed the principal offense of which McConnico stands convicted as an accessory after the fact. The crucial fact was for all practical purposes a condition precedent to McConnico’s conviction as an accessory after the fact.
B. Paragraph 140a (6), Manual, supra, provides
[a] confession or admission not made as testimony in the trial is admissible for the purpose of proving the truth of the matters stated in the confession or admission only when the person who made it is an accused in the case, and it is then admissible for that purpose only with respect to, and against, the accused who made it.
C. Though only tangentially relevant to this case, para. 140b, Manual, supra, relating to the trial of two or more persons, provides that
evidence of a statement made by one of them which is admissible against him only or against him and some, but not all, of his co-accused may not be received in evidence unless all references inculpating an accused against whom it is inadmissible are effectively deleted or the maker of the statement becomes subject to relevant cross-examination.
While this was not a joint trial, it was a trial of McConnico for the crime of being an accessory after the fact of a crime, the commission of which Perdue had admitted in a statement which also inculpated McConnico. Even if the two men had been tried jointly, the statement would have been admissible only against Perdue after all references inculpating McConnico had been “effectively deleted.” The effective deletion of inculpating references to McConnico must be accomplished by the prosecution before displaying the statement to the fact finders. In this case, the trial was held before a military judge alone. Admittedly, the judge stated that he would not consider that portion of the statement which asserted that McConnico drove the automobile from the shooting scene.
Ill
The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States provides: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right . . to be confronted with the witnesses against him.”
The primary object of the [Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment] was to prevent depositions or ex parte affidavits . . . being used against the prisoner in lieu of a personal examination and cross-examination of the witness, in which the accused has an opportunity, not only of testing the recollection and sifting the conscience of the witness, but of compelling him to stand face to face with the jury in order that they may look at him, and judge by his demeanor upon the stand and the manner in which he gives his testimony whether he is worthy of belief.
Id. at 242 — 13, 15 S.Ct. at 339. Seventy years later, in a decision holding the protections of the Sixth Amendment applied to state criminal proceedings under the Fourteenth Amendment, the Court stated:
There are few subjects, perhaps, upon which this Court and other courts have been more nearly unanimous than in their expressions of belief that the right of confrontation . . . is an essential and fundamental requirement for the kind of fair trial which is this country’s constitutional goal.
Pointer v. Texas, 380 U.S. 400, 405, 85 S.Ct. 1065, 1068, 13 L.Ed.2d 923 (1965). The Court has remained steadfast in its recognition of the basic right which the amendment was designed to protect. Barber v. Page, 390 U.S. 719, 721, 88 S.Ct. 1318, 20 L.Ed.2d 255 (1968). As Chief Justice Burger only recently emphasized in Davis v. Alaska, 415 U.S. 308, 315, 94 S.Ct. 1105, 1110, 39 L.Ed.2d 347 (1974):
“Our cases construing the [confrontation] clause hold that a primary interest secured by it is the right of cross-examination.” Douglas v. Alabama, 380 U.S. 415, 418, 85 S.Ct. 1074, 1076, 13 L.Ed.2d 934 (1965).
Continuing, Chief Justice Burger stated:
Cross-examination is the principal means by which the believability of a witness and the truth of his testimony are tested. Subject always to the broad discretion of a trial judge to preclude repetitive and unduly harassing interrogation, the cross-examiner is not only permitted to delve into the witness’ story to test the witness’ perceptions and memory, but the cross-examiner has traditionally been allowed to impeach, i. e., discredit, the witness.
Davis v. Alaska, supra at 316, 94 S.Ct. at 1110. The Supreme Court has remained steadfast in its adherence to the concept that the right of confrontation includes the right to cross-examine the witnesses. See Davis v. Alaska, supra; California v. Green, 399 U.S. 149, 90 S.Ct. 1930, 26 L.Ed.2d 489 (1970); Roberts v. Russell, 392 U.S. 293, 88 S.Ct. 1921, 20 L.Ed.2d 1100 (1968); Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123, 88 S.Ct. 1620, 20 L.Ed.2d 476 (1968); Barber v. Page, supra; Smith v. Illinois, 390 U.S. 129, 88 S.Ct. 748, 19 L.Ed.2d 956 (1968); Brookhart v. Janis, 384 U.S. 1, 86 S.Ct. 1245, 16 L.Ed.2d 314 (1966); Douglas v. Alabama, supra; Pointer v. Texas, supra; Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 83 S.Ct. 407, 9 L.Ed.2d 441 (1963); Bridges v. Wixon, 326 U.S. 135, 65 S.Ct. 1443, 89 L.Ed. 2103 (1945); Salinger v. United States, 272 U.S. 542, 47 S.Ct. 173, 71 L.Ed. 398 (1926); Dowdell v. United States, 221 U.S. 325, 31 S.Ct. 590, 55 L.Ed. 753 (1911); Motes v. United States, 178 U.S. 458, 20 S.Ct. 993, 44 L.Ed. 1150 (1900); Kirby v. United States, 174 U.S. 47, 19 S.Ct. 574, 43 L.Ed. 890 (1899); Reynolds
It is true that the Supreme Court has affirmed convictions in two cases cited in the principal opinion, where out-of-court declarations of witnesses, inculpating the accused, were admitted at trials. In California v. Green, supra, the Court affirmed Green’s conviction, based in part upon the prosecutor’s use, over Green’s objection, of a witness’ preliminary-hearing testimony to “refresh” his memory while testifying for the state during Green’s trial for the sale of marihuana. The witness had testified at the preliminary hearing that he had obtained marihuana from the backyard of Green’s parents’ home and had given the money from its sale to Green. At that preliminary hearing, Green’s attorney (the same lawyer who represented Green at his trial), fully cross-examined the witness. In accordance with a California statute,
Thus, in both cases relied upon by the majority, the Supreme Court upheld the admission of evidence in state prosecutions, pursuant to state statutes, which, under the peculiar circumstances of each case, were held not to violate the right of confrontation. Neither case is similar to this case. Moreover, in each ease, the Court reiterated
Confrontation: (1) insures that the witness will give his statements under oath — thus impressing him with the seriousness of the matter and guarding against the lie by the possibility of a penalty for perjury; (2) forces the witness to submit to cross-examination, “the greatest legal engine ever invented for the discovery of truth”; (3) permits the jury that is to decide the defendant’s fate to observe the demeanor of the witness in making his statement, thus aiding the jury in assessing his credibility.
Id. The Court found that the appearance of the declarant (Porter) on the witness stand, provided Green the opportunity to test the out-of-court statement against the above-stated concerns of the Sixth Amendment’s right of confrontation. And in Dutton v. Evans, supra, the Court found no violation of the right of confrontation under the peculiar circumstances of that case in view of the fact that the case did not involve evidence in any sense “crucial” or “devastating.” Moreover, the Court observed that the witness was vigorously and effectively cross-examined and that the testimony, in any event, was of peripheral significance at most and was admitted under Georgia’s co-conspirator exception to the hearsay rule. Said the Court, “The Georgia statute can obviously have many applications consistent with the Confrontation Clause, and we conclude that its application in the circumstances of this case did not violate the Constitution.” 400 U.S. at 87-88, 91 S.Ct. at 219. But neither case supports the admission of Perdue’s statement in the instant case. The majority’s reliance upon those cases is, therefore, misplaced. No statute or rule permitted the admission of Perdue’s statement. Moreover, admission of the statement was prohibited by the provisions of the Manual for Courts-Martial above discussed, and by the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
For the reasons set forth above, I would reverse the decision of the Court of Military Review, and would permit a rehearing if the appropriate authority deemed it practicable.
. Tnere are few subjects on which pronouncements by the Supreme Court have been more clear and unambiguous. See the discussion infra in Part III. Indeed, only a short time ago, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Parker v. Randolph,-U.S. -, 99 S.Ct. 2132, 60 L.Ed.2d 713 (1979), in which it held that the admission in a joint trial of several defendants of their several interlocking confessions, each implicating the other, did not violate the Sixth Amendment. But the Court distinguished the Parker case’s facts from those of Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123, 88 S.Ct. 1620, 20 L.Ed.2d 476 (1968). Said the Court:
When, as in Bruton, the confessing codefendant has chosen not to take the stand and the implicated defendant has made no extrajudicial admission of guilt, limiting instructions cannot be accepted as adequate to safeguard the defendant’s rights under the Confrontation Clause.
99 S.Ct. at 2140.
. McConnico was convicted of the offense of being an assessory after the fact, in violation of Article 78, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. § 878, which provides:
Any person subject to this chapter who, knowing that an offense punishable by this chapter has been committed, receives, comforts, or assists the offender in order to hinder or prevent his apprehension, trial, or punishment shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
. See the discussion in Part I. It is true that witnesses for the Government placed McConnico at the scene of the altercation and identified McConnico’s automobile as the vehicle in which Perdue and an unidentified person drove away from the scene of the shooting. However, this testimony, added to other testimony of record that Perdue and McConnico were friends from the same hometown and that Per-due had possession of McConnico’s automobile earlier during the day on which the shooting occurred, could support a belief that Perdue drove the automobile away from the scene of the shooting. Even considering a finding that the unidentified person was McConnico, that would not constitute proof beyond a reasonable doubt that McConnico aided or assisted Perdue “in order to hinder or prevent his apprehension, trial or punishment.” This circumstance could just as easily indicate that McConnico became terror stricken when Perdue shot the other serviceman and ran to his own automobile to leave the scene, lest he be accused of the commission of the offense. See United States v. Staten, 189 U.S.App.D.C. 100, 581 F.2d 878 (1978); Bailey v. United States, 135 U.S.App.D.C. 95, 416 F.2d 1110 (1969).
The principal opinion states that the record contains evidence, absent Perdue’s statement,
. Para. 139a, Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, 1969 (Revised edition), provides:
A statement which is offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matters stated therein, but which was not made by the author when a witness before the court at the hearing in which it is so offered, is hearsay. The word “statement” means not only an oral or written expression but also non-verbal conduct of a person intended by him as a substitute for words in expressing the matter stated. Hearsay may not be recited or otherwise introduced in evidence, and it does not become competent evidence by reason of a mere failure to object to its reception in evidence. This rule simply means that a fact cannot be proved by showing that someone stated it was a fact. The basis of the rule is the fundamental principle, which is subject to certain well-established exceptions, that in a criminal prosecution the testimony of the witnesses shall be taken before the court, so that at the time they give the testimony offered in evidence they will be sworn and will be subject to cross-examination, the scrutiny of the court, and confrontation by the accused. Hearsay as defined above includes the testimony of a witness given at the hearing that on another occasion he made a certain statement, if that statement is offered to prove the truth of the matters stated and has not been adopted by the witness as a part of his testimony at the hearing.
The fact that a given statement was made may itself be relevant. If this is so, the making of the statement may be shown by any competent evidence, not for the purpose of proving the truth of what was stated but for the purpose of proving the fact that it was stated.
. Para. 140a(6), Manual, supra, states in pertinent part:
A confession or admission not made as testimony in the trial is admissible for the purpose of proving the truth of the matters stated in the confession or admission only when the person who made it is an accused in the case, and it is then admissible for that purpose only with respect to, and against, the accused who made it.
. U.S.Const. amend. VI, states:
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.
. The military judge read the statement several times and participated in a colloquy with the attorneys during which he referred to the language which would not be considered. The record reflects the following:
MJ All right. Now, this part in here, you’re not concerning the last sentence to the first paragraph on the first page where it reads: “I just hopped in and told him to take me to the barracks, and I just went into the barracks and went to sleep.” You’re not offering that?
TC No, sir, we’re not, and we’re also not offering the previous sentence, “Everybody started running and McConnico ran to his car.” We’re not offering that either.
MJ All right. In other words, really what you’re offering then is just everything in the first paragraph above that, in substance, right? In other words, the first paragraph beginning with the statement where it says the last sentence — “I know one bullet hit the dude that was rushing me, the other hit another dude; the third one, it didn’t hit no one.” That’s just it; you’re not offering anything else?
TC Your Honor, I’m somewhat confused. Would you start with the first sentence that you perceive?
MJ I said the beginning of the statement on page one, there’s a statement there consisting of several sentences. The last sentence of that statement reads before the questions was asked, “Where did you get the gun?” The last sentence says, “I just hopped in and told him to take me to the barracks and just went into the barracks and went to sleep,” — you’re not offering that at all?
TC No, I’m not.
MJ So I will not consider that. You also said you were not offering the one preceding that — “Everybody started running and McConnico ran to his car.” — you’re not offering that?
TC That is correct.
MJ But you’re offering the rest of it above that?
TC Yes, Your Honor.
MJ All right, the rest of the statement won’t be considered then; it will be disregarded. In other words, you’re merely offering the offense of assault with intent to commit murder, not having anything to do with leaving the scene or why or possible self-defense, or anything of that nature?
TC Absolutely.
Of course, trial judges are presumed to have trained and disciplined minds which enable them to distinguish and discard from their minds inadmissible evidence. However, for a judge serving as the trier of the facts to review and discuss the evidence which he has agreed to exclude and which evidence is the single most damaging evidence to the accused, brings to the fore the admonition made by the Court in United States v. Walker, 154 U.S.App.D.C. 6, 8, 473 F.2d 136, 138 (1972): “The disciplined judicial mind should not be subjected to any unnecessary strain; even the most austere intellect has a subconscious.” See also Bruton v. United States, supra.
. See n. 3, supra.
. To convict, the military judge was required to find beyond a reasonable doubt that McConnico (1) had guilty knowledge that Perdue committed an offense punishable under the Code and thereafter that he (2) received, comforted or assisted Perdue (3) in order to hinder or prevent his (Perdue’s) apprehension, trial or punishment. See Article 78, UCMJ. See also Bailey v. United States, supra.
. See n. 4, supra.
. Id.
. Id.
. Id. (emphasis added).
. See n. 9, supra.
. See n. 7, supra. See also Bruton v. United States, supra.
. See n. 5, supra.
. But see n. 14, supra.
. Id.
. See n. 6, supra.
. Article 36(a), UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 836(a), provides:
The procedure, including modes of proof, in cases before courts-martial . and other military tribunals may be prescribed by the President by regulations which shall, so far as he considers practicable, apply the principles of law and the rules of evidence generally recognized in the trial of criminal cases in the United States district courts, but which may not be contrary to or inconsistent with this chapter.
Pursuant to Article 36(a), the President has promulgated the provisions of the Manual for Courts-Martial which contain the provisions above enumerated at notes 4 & 5, which I deem applicable to the admissibility of Perdue’s statement. Where, as here, the Manual contains rules concerning the admission of evidence, the Manual is the sole authority concerning the admissibility of evidence in courts-martial. The Federal Rules of Evidence are not at this time applicable to courts-martial. See Fed.R.Evid. 1101(a). Thus, the majority’s reliance upon Fed.R.Evid. 804(b)(3) is impermissible. It is true that we referred to Fed.R.Evid.
. Cal.Evid.Code § 1235: “Evidence of a statement made by a witness is not made inadmissible by the hearsay rule if the statement is inconsistent with his testimony at the hearing and is offered in compliance with Section 770.” This latter section “requires that the witness be given an opportunity to explain or deny the prior statement at some point in the trial. See Cal.Evid.Code § 770 (1966); People v. Johnson, 68 Cal.2d 646, 650 n. 2, 68 Cal.Rptr. 599, [602 n. 2,] 441 P.2d 111, 114 n. 2 (1968), cert. denied, 393 U.S. 1051, 89 S.Ct. 679, 21 L.Ed.2d 693 (1969).” 399 U.S. 149, 150 n. 1, 90 S.Ct. 1930, 1931, 26 L.Ed.2d 489 (1970).
Concurrence Opinion
(concurring in the result):
I agree with the conclusion in the principal opinion that the other component evidence of Perdue’s commission of the offense attributed to him is so compelling of guilt as to foreclose any “reasonable possibility that the admission of . [Perdue’s written and oral pretrial statements] might have contributed to the appellant’s conviction.” I am constrained, however, to disassociate myself from the discussion of the admissibility of the statements.
For the reason indicated, I join in affirming the decision of the United States Army Court of Military Review.
. The principal opinion describes the oral statement as a “spontaneous exclamation” and seems to imply that it was, therefore, admissible as an exception to the hearsay rule. See para. 142b, Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, 1969 (Revised edition). I do not believe it was admissible as such because the circumstances under which it was made indicate it was not “an impulsive and instinctive outcome of the event.”