U.S. v. Stebbins, 61 M.J. 366

First Principles: Constitutional Matters: Generally

1. the Eighth Amendment provides that excessive fines shall not be imposed; there is a two-pronged analysis for determining whether the Excessive Fines Clause is violated; first, a court must determine if the fine falls within the Excessive Fines Clause and, if so, whether the fine is excessive
2. the touchstone of the constitutional inquiry under the Excessive Fines Clause is the principle of proportionality: the amount of the forfeiture must bear some relationship to the gravity of the offense that it is designed to punish; therefore, if a fine is grossly disproportionate to the gravity of an accused’s offense, it violates the Excessive Fines Clause; this proportionality analysis under the Excessive Fines Clause is conducted on a case-by-case basis and is distinguishable from the determination of sentence appropriateness required by Article 66
3. factors to be analyzed in determining whether a fine is grossly disproportionate include (1) the nature of the offense and whether it is related to any other illegal activities by the accused; (2) whether the accused fits into the class of persons for whom the statute was principally designed; (3) whether the maximum sentence under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines is relatively low, thus confirming a minimal level of culpability; and (4) the level of harm caused by the accused’s offense, to include those who were affected by the offense and the magnitude of harm to those affected
4. at the time that the Constitution was adopted, the word “fine” was understood to mean a payment to a sovereign as punishment for some offense

Trial Stages: Sentence and Punishment: Lawfulness of Sentence

1. life without eligibility for parole (LWOP) was an authorized punishment for rape which occurred after November 18, 1997, the date when Article 56a, UCMJ, was enacted; Article 56a provides that a court-martial may adjudge a sentence of LWOP for “any offense for which a sentence of confinement for life may be adjudged”
2. RCM 1003(b)(3) provides that any court-martial may adjudge a fine in lieu of or in addition to forfeitures; the discussion accompanying RCM 1003(b)(3) states that a fine normally should not be adjudged against a member of the armed forces unless the accused was unjustly enriched as a result of the offense of which convicted; despite this language in the discussion, the use of “normally” in the rule’s nonbinding discussion indicates that “unjust enrichment” is not always a prerequisite to imposing a fine as part of an accused’s sentence
3. the plain language of RCM 1003(b)(3) indicates that fines are available to be imposed on any accused who is convicted and there is no requirement of “unjust enrichment” for a fine to be imposed; in addition, the historical absence of explicit limitations on the imposition of fines for those offenses that do not involve direct loss to the United States is consistent with the President’s authorization in RCM 1003(b)(3) to impose fines in cases that may not involve “unjust enrichment”; based on the plain language of the rule as well as the history of a fine as punishment, it is not unlawful to impose a fine where there is no unjust enrichment
4. the Eighth Amendment provides that excessive fines shall not be imposed; there is a two-pronged analysis for determining whether the Excessive Fines Clause is violated; first, a court must determine if the fine falls within the Excessive Fines Clause and, if so, whether the fine is excessive
5. the touchstone of the constitutional inquiry under the Excessive Fines Clause is the principle of proportionality: the amount of the forfeiture must bear some relationship to the gravity of the offense that it is designed to punish; therefore, if a fine is grossly disproportionate to the gravity of an accused’s offense, it violates the Excessive Fines Clause; this proportionality analysis under the Excessive Fines Clause is conducted on a case-by-case basis and is distinguishable from the determination of sentence appropriateness required by Article 66
6. factors to be analyzed in determining whether a fine is grossly disproportionate include (1) the nature of the offense and whether it is related to any other illegal activities by the accused; (2) whether the accused fits into the class of persons for whom the statute was principally designed; (3) whether the maximum sentence under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines is relatively low, thus confirming a minimal level of culpability; and (4) the level of harm caused by the accused’s offense, to include those who were affected by the offense and the magnitude of harm to those affected
7. at the time that the Constitution was adopted, the word “fine” was understood to mean a payment to a sovereign as punishment for some offense
8. the fine that was imposed on the accused as part of his sentence and that was to be paid to the government as punishment for committing the offense was a “fine” within the meaning of the Excessive Fines Clause
9. the $75,000 fine imposed on the accused for his conviction of the repeated rape and forcible sodomy of his six-year-old daughter was in no way grossly disproportionate to the gravity of his offenses, where (1) the nature of his offenses were severe, (2) he fell into the class of persons for whom the offenses of rape and forcible sodomy were principally designed, (3) the congressionally-prescribed maximum punishment authorized for rape was the most severe sentence known to the law, death, thus indicating that Congress and the President intended to punish these offenses severely; (4) the harm caused to the victim was extremely severe; and (5) under the United States Sentencing Guidelines, had the accused been tried in the civilian system, his offense of criminal sexual abuse with a minor under the age of twelve at the time of the offense would have authorized a fine anywhere between $17,500 and $175,000; thus, based on the facts of this case, the accused’s sentence did not violate the Excessive Fines Clause