U.S. v. Riley, 72 M.J. 115

First Principles: Constitutional Matters: Generally

1. waivers of constitutional rights not only must be voluntary but must be knowing, intelligent acts done with sufficient awareness of the relevant circumstances and likely consequences

Military Justice Personnel: Military Judge: Duties and Responsibilities

1. the military justice system imposes even stricter standards on military judges with respect to guilty pleas than those imposed on federal civilian judges
2. it is the military judge’s responsibility to police the terms of pretrial agreements to insure compliance with statutory and decisional law as well as adherence to basic notions of fundamental fairness
3. although the Military Judges’ Benchbook is not binding as it is not a primary source of law, the Benchbook is intended to ensure compliance with existing law; an individual military judge should not deviate significantly from the instructions in the Benchbook without explaining his or her reasons on the record
4. in order to ensure that pleas of guilty are not only knowing and voluntary but appear to be so, detailed procedural rules govern the military judge’s duties with respect to the plea inquiry
5. it is incumbent upon the military judge to ensure that an accused’s plea is a knowing, intelligent act done with sufficient awareness of the relevant circumstances and likely consequences; the failure to inform a pleading accused that the plea will necessarily require registration as a sex offender affects whether the plea was knowingly made; given the lifelong consequences of sex offender registration, which is a particularly severe penalty, a military judge’s failure to ensure that an accused understood the sex offender registration requirements of her guilty plea to kidnapping a minor results in a substantial basis to question the providence of her plea
6. the military judge shoulders the primary responsibility for the acceptance of a knowing plea; while the defense counsel plays an important role in securing a provident pleas, it is the duty of the military judge to ensure that there is a knowing, intelligent, conscious waiver in order to accept the plea; to be sure, a defense counsel must inform an accused of the consequences of a guilty plea, it is the military judge who bears the ultimate burden of ensuring that the accused’s guilty plea is knowing and voluntary

Military Justice Personnel: Military Judge: Discretion

1. a military judge’s decision to accept a guilty plea is reviewed for an abuse of discretion; an abuse of discretion occurs when there is something in the record of trial, with regard to the factual basis or the law, that would raise a substantial question regarding the appellant’s guilty plea
2. in this case, the military judge abused his discretion when he accepted appellant’s guilty plea to kidnapping a minor without questioning the defense counsel to ensure appellant’s knowledge of the sex offender registration consequences of her plea

Military Justice Personnel: Military Judge: Instructions

1. although the Military Judges’ Benchbook is not binding as it is not a primary source of law, the Benchbook is intended to ensure compliance with existing law; an individual military judge should not deviate significantly from the instructions in the Benchbook without explaining his or her reasons on the record

Trial Stages: Merits: Guilty Pleas

1. Article 45(a), UCMJ, which governs improvident guilty pleas, includes procedural requirements to ensure that military judges make sufficient inquiry to determine that an accused’s plea is knowing and voluntary, satisfies the elements of charged offenses, and more generally that there is not a basis in law or fact to reject the plea
2. a guilty plea is a grave and solemn act which should be accepted only with care and discernment; the plea is more than an admission of past conduct; it is an accused’s consent that a judgment of conviction may be entered without a trial, a waiver of his right to trial before members and a judge
3. the military justice system imposes even stricter standards on military judges with respect to guilty pleas than those imposed on federal civilian judges
4. in the context of a guilty plea inquiry, sex offender registration consequences are not a collateral consequence of the plea; as such, in this case, where sex offender registration was a direct consequence of appellant’s guilty plea to the offense of kidnapping a minor, the military judge was obligated to inquire into appellant’s awareness of this consequence of her guilty plea
5. in order to ensure that pleas of guilty are not only knowing and voluntary but appear to be so, detailed procedural rules govern the military judge’s duties with respect to the plea inquiry
6. it is incumbent upon the military judge to ensure that an accused’s plea is a knowing, intelligent act done with sufficient awareness of the relevant circumstances and likely consequences; the failure to inform a pleading accused that the plea will necessarily require registration as a sex offender affects whether the plea was knowingly made; given the lifelong consequences of sex offender registration, which is a particularly severe penalty, a military judge’s failure to ensure that an accused understood the sex offender registration requirements of her guilty plea to kidnapping a minor results in a substantial basis to question the providence of her plea
7. the military judge shoulders the primary responsibility for the acceptance of a knowing plea; while the defense counsel plays an important role in securing a provident pleas, it is the duty of the military judge to ensure that there is a knowing, intelligent, conscious waiver in order to accept the plea; to be sure, a defense counsel must inform an accused of the consequences of a guilty plea, it is the military judge who bears the ultimate burden of ensuring that the accused’s guilty plea is knowing and voluntary

Trial Stages: Merits: Pretrial Agreements

1. it is the military judge’s responsibility to police the terms of pretrial agreements to insure compliance with statutory and decisional law as well as adherence to basic notions of fundamental fairness

Trial Stages: Merits: Instructions › Generally

1. although the Military Judges’ Benchbook is not binding as it is not a primary source of law, the Benchbook is intended to ensure compliance with existing law; an individual military judge should not deviate significantly from the instructions in the Benchbook without explaining his or her reasons on the record

Trial Stages: Sentence and Punishment: Instructions

1. although the Military Judges’ Benchbook is not binding as it is not a primary source of law, the Benchbook is intended to ensure compliance with existing law; an individual military judge should not deviate significantly from the instructions in the Benchbook without explaining his or her reasons on the record

Trial Stages: Appeals: Remedies › Generally

1. the remedy for finding a plea improvident is to set aside the finding based on the improvident plea and authorize a rehearing

Trial Stages: Appeals: Standards of Review, Burdens, etc.

1. a military judge’s decision to accept a guilty plea is reviewed for an abuse of discretion; an abuse of discretion occurs when there is something in the record of trial, with regard to the factual basis or the law, that would raise a substantial question regarding the appellant’s guilty plea
2. in order to determine whether a guilty plea is knowing and voluntary, an appellate court looks to the record of trial and the documents considered by the court below

Miscellaneous Matters: Statutes, Treaties, Regulations, Executive Orders, Directives, etc.: Generally

1. although the Military Judges’ Benchbook is not binding as it is not a primary source of law, the Benchbook is intended to ensure compliance with existing law; an individual military judge should not deviate significantly from the instructions in the Benchbook without explaining his or her reasons on the record