# Opposition — Kehrli v. Sprinkle

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## Record

- **Collection:** Supreme Court brief
- **Document type:** Opposition
- **Published:** January 1, 1976
- **Citation:** 426 U.S. 947

## Text

No. 75-1170

Iu the Supreme Court of the United States
OCTOBER TERM, 1975

GERALD V. KEHRLI, ETC., PETITIONER
Vv,

HoMER R. SPRINKLE, COMMANDANT, ETC.

ON PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR
THE TENTH CIRCUIT

BRIEF FOR THE RESPONDENT IN OPPOSITION

RoserT H. Bork,
Solicitor General,

RICHARD L. THORNBURGH,
Assistant Attorney General,

SIDNEY M. GLAZER,

ROBERT J. ERICKSON,
Attorneys,
Department of Justice,
Washington, D.C. 20530.

a”

INDEX

Page
Opinions below 1
Jurisdiction 2
Questions presented 2
Statément 2
Argument 6
Conclusion ie 17

CITATIONS
Cases:
Allen v. VanCantfort, 436 F. 2d 625,

certiorari denied, 402 U.S. 1008 8
Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U.S. 108 . 14
Avrech vy. Secretary of the Navy, 477 F.

2d 1237, reversed, 418 U.S. 676 . 6
Burns v. Wilson, 346 U.S. 137, rehearing

denied, 346 U.S. 844 7,8
Calley v. Callaway, 519 F. 2d 184, cer-

tiorari denied, No. 75-773 (April 5,

1976) sai | 8
Carafas v. LaVallee, 391 U.S. 234 6
Harris v. Ciccone, 417 F. 2d 479, certio-

rari denied, 397 U.S. 1078 ___. 8-9, 10
Humphrey v. Smith, 336 U.S. 695 9,10
Kasey v. Goodwyn, 291 F. 2d 174 _ 11
Levy v. Parker, 478 F. 2d 772, reversed

on other grounds, 417 U.S. 733 8
O'Callahan v. Parker, 395 U.S. 258 16
Parker v. Levy, 417 U.S. 733 7,14,15

Relford vy. United States Disciplinary
Commandant, 401 U.S. 355 16

Cases—( ‘ontinued Page Miscellaneous :
Secretary of the Navy v. Avrech, 418 Manual for Courts-Martial, United States
US. 67% ain 15 (1969 Rev.) :
Schlesinger v. Councilman, 420 U.S. 738 7 coe — roenedanmmanensoneenenenesewapeowens
-—-y States v. Augenblick, 393 U.S. . — ie 16,86
ee ‘ |» iC a
United States vy. Goeltz, 513 F. 2d 193, _
certiorari denied, 423 U.S. 830 _. 14
United States v. Kiffer, 477 F. 2d 349,
certiorari denied, 414 U.S. 831... 15
United States v. LaFroscia, 485 F. 2d
457 Chae ATT sta TS 15
United States y. Nieto, 510 F. 2d 1118,
certiorari denied, 423 U.S. 854 __. 14

United States v. Rodriquez-Camacho, 468
F. 2d 1220, certiorari denied, 410 U.S.
985 15

United States v. Spann, 515 F. 2d 579 15
United States v. Ventresca, 380 U.S. 102 14
United States y. Welebir, 498 F. 2d 346 14

Constitution and statutes:
United States Constitution, Eighth

a 16
Uniform Code of Military Justice:
Article 1(9), 10 U.S.C. 801(9) 11
Article 22(b), 10 U.S.C. 822(b) . 11
Article 32(a), 10 U.S.C. 832(a) 9
Article 32(b), 10 U.S.C. 832(b) i) |

Article 134, 10 U.S.C. 934. 2, 3,6,14,15
Article 137, 10 U.S.C. 937 15

Iu the Supreme Court of the United States

OCTOBER TERM, 1975

No. 75-1170
GERALD V. KEHRLI, ETC., PETITIONER
Vv.

HoMER R. SPRINKLE, COMMANDANT, ETC.

ON PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR
THE TENTH CIRCUIT

BRIEF FOR THE RESPONDENT IN OPPOSITION

OPINIONS BELOW

The opinion of the court of appeals (Pet. App. la-
14a) is reported at 524 F. 2d 328. The opinions of
the district court (Pet. App. 15a-25a, 3la-46a) are
not reported. The opinion of the United States Air
Force Court of Military Review (Pet. App. 49a-58a)
is reported at 44 C.M.R. 582.

(1)

2

JURISDICTION

The judgment of the court of appeals was entered
on October 20, 1975. On January 6, 1976, Mr. Jus-
tice White extended the time for filing a petition for
a writ of certiorari to and including February 18,
1976; the petition was filed on February 17, 1976.
The jurisdiction of this Court is invoked under 28
U.S.C. 1254(1).

QUESTIONS PRESENTED

1. Whether in this habeas corpus proceeding the
courts below, after having concluded that the mili-
tary courts had fully and fairly considered petition-
er’s claims of irregularities in his court-martial pro-
ceedings and that his arrest had not been based upon
probable cause, properly refused to engage in plenary
review of those claims.

2. Whether Article 134 of the Uniform Code of
Military Justice is constitutional as applied to the
possession, use and transfer of marijuana.

3. Whether petitioner’s sentence is constitutional.

STATEMENT

1. Following the convening of a general court-
martial in the former Republic of Viet Nam, peti-
tioner was convicted on three specifications charging
use of marijuana, two specifications charging the
transfer of marijuana, and one specification charg-
ing possession of marijuana, in violation of Article
134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice

PD -

(“U.C.M.J.”), 10 U.S.C. 934. He was sentenced to
four years’ imprisonment at hard labor. In lieu of
the fourth year of confinement, petitioner was given
the option of paying a $15,000 fine.’

2. The evidence at the court-martial showed that
during the fall of 1970, petitioner, a full colonel, was
the commanding officer of the 616th Military Airlift
Support Squadron, which was then stationed at the
Tan Son Nhut Air Base near Siagon. In early Octo-
ber of that year, petitioner met Lieutenant Peter
Jackson, an Army intelligence officer (R. 127-129).
Petitioner confided to Jackson that he used mari-
juana and that he had converted a junior officer
under his command to the use of marijuana (R.
129). Later that same night, petitioner smoked two
marijuana cigarettes in Jackson’s presence (R. 130-
132).

1 Article 134 of the U.C.M.J., 10 U.S.C. 934, provides
as follows: ¢

Though not specifically mentioned in this chapter,
all disorders and neglects to the prejudice of good order
and discipline in the armed forces, all conduct of a nature
to bring discredit upon the armed forces, and crimes and
offenses not capital, of which persons subject to this
chapter may be guilty, shall be taken cognizance of by a
general, special, or summary court-martial, according to
the nature and degree of the offense, and shall be punished
at the discretion of that court.

* Petitioner began serving his sentence in January 1972. He
was released on parole in May 1973, and remained in that
status until January 1975. Petitioner completed payment of
the fine in January 1976 (Pet. 7).

4

Upon returning to his unit the following day,
Jackson briefed his superiors concerning petitioner’s
use of marijuana (R. 132, 135). When petitioner
subsequently invited Jackson to meet him in Saigon
on November 20, Jackson alerted military authori-
ties and arrangements were made for surveillance
of the meeting (R. 135). Jackson was instructed to
signal the surveilling officers with his handkerchief
if he found that petitioner possessed marijuana (R.
43-44, 136).

Jackson met petitioner in Saigon on November 20,
as scheduled, and the two went to the latter’s quar-
ters. Once there, petitioner stated that he expected
a delivery of marijuana, but that if the delivery was
not made Jackson need not worry “because he [peti-
tioner] had four in his room” and “two apiece would
be more than enough to do it” (R. 137). When the
delivery did not take place, petitioner went into his
bedroom and returned carrying a crumpled cigarette
package. Petitioner then suggested that Jackson ac-
company him to the officer’s club, “smoke two in the
parking lot, go downtown and have a few drinks,
and smoke two downtown” (ibid.).

As Jackson and petitioner were leaving the latter’s
quarters, Jackson signaled the surveilling officers.
The officers arrested petitioner before he had gotten
out of his car outside the officer’s club (R. 45-46,
138). As petitioner got out of his car, the arresting
officer noticed a cigarette package fall from petition-
er’s hand onto the door ledge of the car (R. 35-36).

4
Jv

The officer seized the package and found that it con-
tained four marijuana cigarettes (R. 36).

Five enlisted airmen, assigned to petitioner’s
squadron, testified at petitioner’s court-martial for
the prosecution. In sum, they related that petitioner
had invited them to his quarters on several occasions
and that on those occasions they had smoked mari-
juana with petitioner. The airmen further testified
that petitioner sometimes provided the marijuana,
while on other occasions the marijuana was provided
by petitioner’s guests. One of the airmen also testi-
fied that he had twice purchased marijuana for peti-
tioner, once after having been specifically requested
to do so by petitioner (R. 85-90, 96-99, 107-110, 115-
116, 122-123).

3. Following petitioner’s conviction by general
court-martial, the case was reviewed on behalf of the
convening authority by the Staff Judge Advocate of
the 22d Air Force and the convening authority there-
after approved the conviction (Pet. App. 59a-81la).
The United States Air Force Court of Military Re-
view subsequently affirmed petitioner’s conviction and
sentence (Pet. App. 49a-58a), and the United States
Court of Military Appeals denied a petition seeking
further review (Pet. App. 47a-48a).

Having exhausted his remedies within the military,
petitioner initiated the present habeas corpus pro-
ceeding in June 1972 in the United States District
Court for the District of Kansas.’ He alleged in his

’ Since petitioner was “in custody” at the time he petitioned
for habeas corpus (see n. 2, supra), the district court had

6

petition fifteen errors, including alleged procedural
defects in the convening of his court-martial and
challenges to the legality of his arrest and to the
constitutionality of Article 134 of the U.C.M.J. After
having reviewed the materials submitted by peti-
tioner, the district court denied the petition (Pet.
App. 3la-46a).

The court of appeals subsequently remanded the
ease to the district court for consideration of the
constitutionality of Article 134 of the U.C.M.J. in
light of Avrech v. Secretary of the Navy, 477 F. 2d
1237 (C.A. D.C.)—which had been decided after the
district court’s decision in this case. The district court
thereafter again denied the petition (Pet. App. 15a-
27a), and the court of appeals affirmed (Pet. App.
la-l4a).

ARGUMENT

1. Petitioner first contends (Pet. 16-25) that the
district court and the court of appeals erred in re-
fusing to consider de novo his claims that irregular-
ities in his court-martial deprived him of due process
and that his arrest was not based upon probable
cause. According to petitioner, the refusal of the civil-
ian courts to consider those claims on their merits
proceeded from a misapprehension of this Court’s

jurisdiction to entertain the petition. His unconditional release
from custody in January 1976 did not defeat jurisdiction.
E.g., Carafas V. LaVallee, 391 U.S. 234.

*The court of appeals’ decision in Avrech v. Secretary of
the Navy, supra, was reversed by this Court (418 U.S. 676)
after the district court’s decision on remand denying peti-
tioner’s habeas petition.

7

decision in Burns v. Wilson, 346 U.S. 137 rehearing
denied, 346 U.S. 844, and is a matter requiring re-
view by this Court.

Under settled principles, however, the questions
whether petitioner’s court-martial was infected by
procedural irregularities and whether his arrest was
based upon probable cause are resolvable only on the
basis of the evidence introduced at the court-martial.
The courts below correctly held that the scope of re-
view on habeas corpus does not extend to the redeter-
mination of facts found in military proceedings, but
is limited instead to determining whether the mili-
tary courts fully and fairly considered such claims.

2. This Court repeatedly has recognized that mili-
tary law constitutes a different jurisprudential sys-
tem from the law governing civilian conduct. F.9.,
Schlesinger v. Councilman, 420 U.S. 738, 746; Par-
ker v. Levy, 417 U.S. 733, 744. Review of convic-
tions by courts-martial on habeas corpus is accord-
ingly limited. As stated in Burns v. Wilson, supra,
346 U.S. at 142 (citations omitted): -

The military courts, like the state courts, have
the same responsibilities as do the federal courts
to protect a person from a violation of his con-
stitutional rights. In military habeas corpus
cases, even more than in state habeas corpus
cases, it would be in disregard of the statutory
scheme if the federal civil courts failed to take
account ef the prior proceedings—of the fair
determinations of the military tribunals after
all military remedies have been exhausted. Con-
gress has provided that these determinations are
“final” and “binding” upon ail courts. We have

8

held before that this does not displace the civil
courts’ jurisdiction over an application for
habeas corpus from the military prisoner. * * *
But these provisions do mean that when a mili-
tary decision has dealt fully and fairly with an
allegation raised in that application, it is not
open to a federal civil court to grant the writ
simply to re-evaluate the evidence. * * *

Petitioner apparently concedes (see Pet. 16-18)
that Burns precludes de novo review on habeas cor-
pus of questions raising factual, as opposed to purely
legal, issues already fully and fairly considered by
the appropriate military tribunals. But while peti-
tioner’s claims of procedural irregularities and his
Fourth Amendment claim call ultimately for legal
conclusions, such conclusions necessarily require—
and are directly dependent upon—detailed factual
determinations. Thus, rather than presenting purely
legal issues, petitioner’s claims would have required
the courts below “to re-examine and reweigh each
item of evidence of the occurrence of events which
tend[ed] to prove or disprove [his] * * * allegations.”
Burns v. Wilson, supra, 346 U.S. at 144. The courts
below properly declined to engage in such reevalua-
tion. Calley v. Callaway, 519 F. 2d 184, 198-203
(C.A. 5) (en banc), certiorari denied, No. 75-773
(April 5, 1976); Levy v. Parker, 478 F. 2d 772, 783
(C.A. 3), reversed on other grounds, 417 U.S. 733;
Allen v. VanCantfort, 436 F. 2d 625, 629 (C.A. 1),
certiorari denied, 402 U.S. 1008; Harris v. Ciccone,
417 F. 2d 479, 481 (C.A. 8), certiorari denied, 397

8 el al

9

U.S. 1078; see also United States v. Augenblick, 393
U.S. 348, 349-352.

3. The military courts fully and fairly considered
the variety of procedural errors in the convening of
the court-martial that petitioner claimed had de-
prived him of due process. They also properly reject-
ed his contention that his arrest was not based upon
probable cause.°

a. Before charges may be referred for trial by
general court-martial, Article 32(a) of the U.C.M.J.
requires that “a thorough and impartial investiga-
tion” be conducted. 10 U.S.C. 832(a). During such
investigation, which is analogous to a preliminary
hearing (see Humphrey v. Smith, 336 U.S. 695, 698),
the accused is afforded the right to counsel, to cross-
examine adverse witnesses and to proffer evidence
on his own behalf. 10 U.S.C. 832(b). Petitioner con-
tends (Pet. 21) that he was denied due process be-
cause the inquiry officer conducted ex parte inter-
views of persons who later testified at the inves-
tigation. But no provision of the U.C.M.J. or the
Manual for Courts-Martial proscribes such a prac-
tice. When, as here, petitioner was represented at the
formal investigatory hearing by counsel and—as he

* Petitioner suggests (Pet. 20 n. 6) that these issues were
not fully and fairly considered by the military courts because
of reliance by the Court of Military Review upon the analysis
of the Staff Judge Advocate. As the district court correctly
noted, however, “[t]here is no requirement that an Appellate
Court reiterate what has already been said at a lower level,
if it agrees with the prior determination which is of record and
is readily available to the interested parties” (Pet. App. 40a).

10

concedes (Pet. 21)—afforded full rights of cross-
examination, the requirements of a “thorough and
impartial investigation” and of due process were
satisfied.°

b. Petitioner next contends (Pet. 22) that the
charges against him were improperly processed be-
cause his immediate superior officer, who could have
exercised summary court-martial jurisdiction over
him, was by-passed. Again, however, neither the
U.C.M.J. nor the Manual for Courts-Martial re-
quires that charges be processed at each command
level.

Contrary to petitioner’s suggestion, moreover, the
officer authorized to exercise general court-martial
jurisdiction—in petitioner’s case, the commander of
the Seventh Air Force—was not limited to referring
charges for trial by general courts-martial. Such
officer “may take any action on the charges which
the immediate commander * * * or the officer exer-
cising summary court-martial jurisdiction * * * is
authorized to take.” Manual for Courts-Martial, para.
35a (1969 Rev.). Thus, the by-passing of petition-
er’s immediate superior officer did not preclude any
disposition of the charges that would otherwise have
been available—and did not deprive petitioner of any
statutory or constitutional rights.

* Even assuming that the prehearing interviews conducted
in this case departed in some way from the requirements of
Article 32, that fact would not provide grounds for invali-
dating petitioner’s conviction. See Humphrey V. Smith, supra,
236 U.S. at 698-701; Harris v. Ciccone, supra, 417 F. 2d at
483.

11

c. The record does not support petitioner’s con-
tention (Pet. 22) that the court-martial may have
been affected by improper command influence. Peti-
tioner bases this claim on a speech that was given by
Genera! Lucius Clay, Commander of the Seventh Air
Force, three weeks prior to petitioner’s arrest. Gen-
eral Clay stated in that speech that drug abuse de-
tracted from the mission of the military and could
not be tolerated; that offenders of different ranks
would be treated differently; that more was expected
from senior NCO’s and officers than from others;
and that persons who deviated from standards of
required conduct could expect to be punished (R. 20).

But petitioner has not shown that General Clay’s
remarks affected the impartiality of his court-
martial. The speech in question was made before a
group of junior officers, and there is no evidence that
members of the court were even aware of the speech.
Moreover, petitioner has not claimed that he was
denied adequate opportunity to question prospective
members of the court to ascertain whether they were
aware of the speech. The speech occurred well before
charges were brought against petitioner and was
framed in general terms. It was not directed against
petitioner and did not relate to the case against him.
Compare Kasey v. Goodwyn, 291 F. 2d 174 (C.A. 4).

d. Petitioner also argues (Pet. 22-23) that Gen-
eral Clay was not authorized to convene his general
court-martial because he was petitioner’s de facto
accuser. See Articles 1(9) and 22(b), 10 U.S.C. 801
(9) and 822(b). This claim is directly refuted by the

12

stipulated testimony of General Clay and General
Bennett, Chief of Staff of the Seventh Air Force,
who brought the charges against petitioner. As the
Staff Judge Advocate summarized this testimony

(Pet. App. 66a-67a) :

The parties to the trial agreed that General
Clay would have testified that, as the general
court-martial convening authority for Seventh
Air Force, between 20 and 29 November 1970,
he was briefed by Colonel Archie Henson,
Seventh Air Force Staff Judge Advocate, on the
aileged conduct giving rise to the charges in the
accused’s case. General Clay directed that charg-
es be preferred and that the case be referred to
trial by general court-martial. He directed that
Colonel Henson do what was necessary to proc-
ess the case (App. Ex. 2). The parties to the
trial agreed that Brigadier General Charles I.
Bennett, Jr., would have testified that on 29
November 1970 and on 23 December 1970, he
preferred charges against the accused, having
obtained personal knowledge of the results of
the investigation into the accused’s conduct, pur-
suant to Colonel Henson’s recommendations and
because of the accused’s unique duty status. He
did not know whether General Clay knew of or
consented to his preferring these charges. He
was not ordered to prefer the charges; and,
prior to signing the charge sheets, he discussed

the matter with no one save Colonel Henson
* «= *€

These procedures fully comported with applicable re-
quirements, as outlined in the Manual for Courts-
Martial, para. 5a(4) (1969 Rev.):

13

Action by a commanding officer which is merely
official and in the strict line of duty cannot be
regarded as sufficient to disqualify him [from
convening a court-martial]. For example, a
commanding officer may, without becoming an
accuser in the case, direct a subordinate to in-
vestigate an alleged offense with a view to for-
mulating and preferring appropriate charges if
the facts disclosed by the investigation should
warrant preferring charges. The commanding
officer may thereafter refer the charges for trial
as in other cases.

General Clay’s action in this case was the same as

that of the commanding officer in the situation de-

scribed in the Manual.

e. The record also refutes petitioner’s contention
(Pet. 24-25) that his arrest was not based upon prob-
able cause. As noted, Lieutenant Jackson had previ-
ously observed petitioner smoking marijuana. On the
night of his arrest, petitioner told Jackson that he
was expecting a delivery of marijuana, but that he
had four marijuana cigarettes in his quarters in the
event the expected delivery did not occur. Before
leaving petitioner’s quarters, Jackson observed peti-
tioner enter his bedroom and return with a crumpled,
open cigarette package. Petitioner stated at that
time that they could “smoke two” in the parking lot
of the officer’s club and later “smoke two” downtown.
Based upon these events, Jackson had probable cause
to believe that petitioner possessed a prohibited sub-
stance.’

’ Petitioner’s arrest and the consequent seizure of the mari-
juana cigarettes that he dropped upon getting out of his car

14

4. The district court and the court of appeals care-
fully considered, and correctly rejected, petitioner’s
contention (Pet. 25-31) that Article 134, 10 U.S.C.
934, is unconstitutional as applied to the possession,
use and distribution of marijuana. While there may
be areas with respect to which application of Article
134 is uncertain (Parker v. Levy, supra, 417 U.S.
at 754), there can be little doubt that the article
prohibits repeated marijuana offenses in a combat
zone. As noted in Parker v. Levy, almost all acts
charged under Article 134—most notably, drug of-
fenses—are acts that ordinary soldiers know are
punishable offenses.“ 417 U.S. at 763 (Blackmun, J.,
concurring).

Indeed, the inclusion of marijuana offenses within
Article 134’s general proscrijftion of conduct “to the
prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed
forces” is specified in the Manual for Courts-Mar-
tial. In explaining conduct within the reach of Arti-
cle 134, the Manual states that “[i]t is a violation
of this article wrongfully to possess or use marijuana

outside the officer’s club were not made unlawful by the fact
that Lieutenant Jackson had not previously supplied the
arresting officer with similar information or because the
arresting officer did not himself observe the events supplying
probable cause. See United States v. Ventresca, 380 U.S. 102,
111; Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U.S. 108, 114-115; United Stetes v.
Goeltz, 513 F. 2d 193, 197 (C.A. 10), certiorari denied, 423
U.S. 830; United States v. Nieto, 510 F. 2d 1118, 1120 (C.A.
5), certiorari denied, 423 U.S. 854; United States v. Welebir,
498 F. 2d 346, 349 n. 2 (C.A. 4).

8 Petitioner has never claimed that he did not know that the
use of marijuana violated Article 134 (see Pet. App. 13a).

15

* * *.’ Manual for Courts-Martial, para. 2135
(1969 Rev.). In view of petitioner’s status as a com-
manding officer and his concomitant responsibility
to explain the scope of the general article to enlisted
men under his command (see Article 127, 10 U.S.C.
937), it can hardly be said that petitioner lacked
fair notice that his possession, use and distribution
of marijuana violated Article 134. See Parker v.
Levy, supra, 417 U.S. at 756-757; Secretary of the
Navy v. Avrech, 418 U.S. 676.

Petitioner’s contention (Pet. 31) that the prohibi-
tion against the use and possession of marijuana vio-
lates his right to privacy is also without merit. No
federal court has ever found such a privacy interest
in a civilian setting—much less in a military one.
Petitioner’s further suggestion (Pet. 27) that the
offenses of which he was convicted may not have been

® Petitioner also argues (Pet. 29-30) that proscriptions
directed against the use or possession of marijuana are arbi-
trary. This argument has been universally rejected by the
federal courts that have considered it. E.g., United States v.
Spann, 515 F. 2d 579, 583-584 (C.A. 10); United States v.
LaF roscia, 485 F. 2d 457 (C.A. 2); United States v. Kiffer,
477 F. 2d 349, 355-357 (C.A. 2), certiorari denied, 414 U.S.
831; United States v. Rodriquez-Camacho, 468 F. 2d 1220
(C.A. 9), certiorari denied, 410 U.S. 985.

The Manual for Courts-Martial does distinguish, contrary to
petitioner’s assertion (Pet. 29), between habit-forming and
nonhabit-forming drugs, such as marijuana. Paragraph 127c
of the Manual provides that the maximum punishment
for a single use of a habit-forming drug is ten years’ im-
prisonment and that the maximum penalty for a use of
marijuana is five years’ imprisonment.

16

“service-connected” is similarly unavailing. As the
court below concluded, “the military certainly has a
vital interest in the use of drugs by service personnel
in combat zones, and on or near military installa-
tions” (Pet. App. 9a). See Relford v. United States
Disciplinary Commandant, 401 U.S. 355, 365; O’Cal-
lahan v. Parker, 395 U.S. 258, 273-274. This is
particularly so in the case of a commanding officer
of petitioner’s high rank.

5. Finally, petitioner contends (Pet. 31-32) that
his sentence constituted cruel and unusual punish-
ment, in violation of the Eighth Amendment. While
petitioner’s personal possession and use of marijuana
were serious offenses, he a..o transferred the drug
to enlisted men. Such misconduct increased the haz-
ards to his men, who were serving in a combat zone,
and encouraged disobedience of the law and disre-
spect for superior officers. Petitioner’s sentence was
well within the maximum punishment allowable un-
der the Manual for Courts-Martial, para. 127c
(1969 Rev.), and is constitutional.

17
CONCLUSION

It is therefore respectfully submitted that the peti-
tion for a writ of certiorari should be denied.

ROBERT H. BORK,
Solicitor General.

RICHARD L. THORNBURGH,
Assistant Attorney General.

SIDNEY M. GLAZER,
ROBERT J. ERICKSON,
Attorneys.

JUNE 1976.

WU. 6. GOVERNMENT PRIPiiNG OFFicE; 1976 208249 260

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