U.S. v. Vasquez, 54 M.J. 303

Core Criminal Law Subjects: Evidence: Plea Negotiations

1. Mil. R. Evid. 410 is generally taken from Fed. R. Evid 410, but is broader because it encompasses statements made in connection with a request for administrative disposition in lieu of court-martial
2. an excessively formalistic or technical approach to Mil. R. Evid. 410 may undermine the policy of the rule to encourage the flow of information during the plea-bargaining process
3. Mil. R. Evid. 410 does not require that protected plea bargaining statements be related to offenses pending before the court-martial at which they are offered
4. under Mil. R. Evid. 410, appellant’s admission of guilt in conjunction with a request for administrative separation in lieu of court martial was not admissible even though those statements related to an offense not pending before the court-martial; those statements related to an absence offense which was still pending in the sense that the government remained free to prosecute appellant until jurisdiction terminated by virtue of appellant’s discharge

Trial Stages: Appeals: Harmless / Prejudicial Error

1. appellant was prejudiced by the erroneous introduction of an admission of guilt to unauthorized absence made in conjunction with a request for administrative separation in lieu of court-martial (Mil. R. Evid. 410), where the court could not say with fair assurance that the improper evidence did not have a substantial influence on the sentence imposed by the military judge

Trial Stages: Appeals: Remedies › Sentence reassessment

1. where appellant was prejudiced by the erroneous introduction of an admission of guilt to unauthorized absence made in conjunction with a request for administrative separation in lieu of court-martial (Mil. R. Evid. 410), it could not be reliably determined that the military judge would have imposed a bad-conduct discharge in the absence of the evidence of the 212-day unauthorized absence; consequently, Court of Criminal Appeals could not reassess and affirm the bad-conduct discharge