U.S. v. Bennitt, 72 M.J. 266

Core Criminal Law Subjects: Crimes: Article 77 - Principals Pre-2019 offenses

1. aiding and abetting the wrongful use of drugs is a viable offense under the UCMJ, as there is no evidence that Congress intended Article 112a, UCMJ, to preempt the entire universe of possible charges involving drugs, and nothing in the plain language or history of Article 77, UCMJ, 10 USC § 877, excludes wrongful use of a controlled substance as an object of aiding and abetting

Core Criminal Law Subjects: Crimes: Art. 112a -- Wrongful Use, Possession, etc, of Controlled Substances Pre-2019 offenses

1. aiding and abetting the wrongful use of drugs is a viable offense under the UCMJ, as there is no evidence that Congress intended Article 112a, UCMJ, to preempt the entire universe of possible charges involving drugs, and nothing in the plain language or history of Article 77, UCMJ, 10 USC § 877, excludes wrongful use of a controlled substance as an object of aiding and abetting

Core Criminal Law Subjects: Crimes: Article 119 - Manslaughter Pre-2019 offenses

1. any servicememmber who, without an intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm, unlawfully kills a human being (1) by culpable negligence, or (2) while perpetrating or attempting to perpetrate an offense, other than those named in [Article 118(4), UCMJ], directly affecting the person, is guilty of involuntary manslaughter
2. a conviction for involuntary manslaughter cannot be sustained solely by evidence that an accused sold someone a drug and that the purchaser later died from an overdose of that drug; on the other hand, when the seller has gone further and assisted the purchaser in injecting or ingesting the drug, the sale becomes one which does directly affect the person for purposes of Article 119(b)(2)
3. with respect to manslaughter under Article 119(b)(2), UCMJ, offenses directly affecting the person are limited to those in which physical force is applied directly against an individual’s body
4. appellant’s conduct in crushing a pill containing an illegal drug that was then ingested by his civilian girlfriend, who then died from a drug overdose, could not support his conviction for involuntary manslaughter because his aiding and abetting of the victim’s wrongful drug use did not constitute physical assistance such that it was an offense directly affecting the person

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

1. an appellate court reviews questions of legal sufficiency de novo
2. the test for legal sufficiency is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt
3. an appellate court reviews questions of law, such as the interpretation and statutory construction of Article 119(b)(2), UCMJ, de novo