U.S. v. Vaughan, 58 M.J. 29

Core Criminal Law Subjects: Crimes: Art. 134 - Miscellaneous -- Clause 1, Clause 2, or Clause 3 Pre-2019 offenses

1. an Article 134 offense that is not specifically listed in the Manual for Courts-Martial must have words of criminality and provide an accused with notice as to the elements against which he or she must defend
2. as a matter of due process, a service member must have fair notice that his conduct is punishable before he can be charged under Article 134 with a service discrediting offense; such notice may be found in the Manual for Courts-Martial, federal law, state law, military case law, military custom and usage, and military regulations
3. child neglect, although not specifically listed in the Manual for Courts-Martial as an Article 134 offense, may be charged under that Article as a service discrediting offense; custom and regulation, state law, and military case law combine to meet the requirements for due process notice enunciated in Parker v. Levy, 417 U.S. 733 (1974)
4. child neglect requires culpably negligent conduct, unreasonable under the totality of the circumstances, that causes a risk of harm to the child; actual harm to the child is not required
5. whether a given act of child neglect amounts to criminal conduct under Article 134 and whether the conduct is service discrediting will invariably present questions of fact for the trier of fact to determine