CAAF Opinion Digest · III.AA.45 · Crimes Offenses on/after 1 Jan 2019

Article 109 - Property Other Than Military Property of US - Waste, Spoilage, or Destruction

At the court
Offenses committed on or after 1 January 2019 (post-2016 amendment) — opinions from the 2021 Term of Court forward.
1 digested opinion, 2024–2024 Terms
2024 (October Term)
United States v. Saul, 86 M.J. 30 · decided Jul 21, 2025 · No. 24-0098/AF
  1. Article 109, UCMJ, establishes offenses concerning the destruction of nonmilitary property; it provides in relevant part that any person subject to this chapter who willfully and wrongfully destroys or damages any property other than military property of the United States shall be punished as a court-martial may direct; Article 109, UCMJ, requires that the government prove the accused had the specific intent of destroying or damaging property, as opposed to merely intending to do an act without necessarily intending for the act to damage or destroy property
  2. Appellant's plea of guilty to the specification of willfully and wrongfully destroying nonmilitary property, a car windshield, under Article 109, UCMJ, was improvident given his repeated statements that he did not intend to damage the windshield; the military judge never resolved the substantial inconsistency between any inference that appellant willfully and wrongfully destroyed a windshield and his earlier express statements that he did not intend to damage the windshield; even if a military judge could lawfully infer that appellant acted willfully and wrongfully based on his knowledge of the natural and probable consequences of his action, that inference substantially conflicted with appellant's repeated statements that he did not intend to damage the windshield; and nothing in the plea inquiry resolved this substantial inconsistency
  3. in this case, precedent has established that an accused must destroy property willfully and wrongfully to violate Article 109, UCMJ; appellant's express statements that he did not intentionally damage the windshield were therefore inconsistent with his plea of guilty to violating Article 109, UCMJ
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Last updated by the court: Oct 13, 2026 · mirrored Oct 29, 2026 · digest page IIIAA45 · Always confirm a holding against the opinion itself (linked from each case name).

AA. Crimes
Offenses on/after 1 Jan 2019
Generally (4) Article 80 - Attempts (3) Article 81 - Conspiracy (1) Article 91 - Insubordinate Conduct Toward Warrant Officer, Noncommissioned Officer, or Petty Officer (1) Article 109 - Property Other Than Military Property of US - Waste, Spoilage, or Destruction (1) Article 112a - Wrongful Use, Possession, etc., of Controlled Substances (2) Article 113 - Drunken or Reckless Operation of a Vehicle, Aircraft, or Vessel (1) Article 117a - Wrongful Broadcast or Distribution of Intimate Visual Images (2) Article 119b – Child Endangerment (1) Article 120 - Rape and Sexual Assault Generally (8) Article 120b - Rape and Sexual Assault of a Child (1) Article 120c - Other Sexual Misconduct (1) Article 131e: Prevention of Authorized Seizure of Property (1) Article 133: Conduct Unbecoming an Officer (2) Article 134: General Article (5) Article 134: Child Pornography (1) Article 134: Indecent Conduct (3) Art. 134 - Miscellaneous -- Clause 1, Clause 2, or Clause 3 (6)
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