Conduct Unbecoming – Page 6 – Conduct Unbecoming

027 US v. Lozoria

Anything can happen when people head home for a trip. Hallmark would have you believe that you’ll abandon your high power career in your new home city to fall in love with a Christmas tree farmer or hometown pastry chef. The CDC would remind you that transmission of contagious diseases increases in the winter when everyone heads indoors together and gets all cozy with one another. And Senior Airman Lozoria would, perhaps, remind you to support local small businesses, inclusive of your friendly neighborhood drug dealer.

I relied on the AFCCA opinion and Lozoria’s appellate brief.

I referenced information about LSD, Scott Air Force Base (1)(2)(3)(4), the Salem Witch Trials(1)(2)(3), and Hard Labor(1)(2)

This episode discussed substance use. If you, or someone you know is struggling with substance use, the SAMHSA National Helpline can be reached at 1-800-662-HELP and their treatment locator is available online.

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Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to share, rate and review it wherever you listen to podcasts. I’m happy to receive constructive feedback or case suggestions at conductunbecomingpod@gmail.com. Join me over on Instagram @conductunbecoming!

Disclaimer: Conduct Unbecoming is a podcast where I get to talk about interesting crimes and cases that involve US military service members. I research, write, and produce the podcast myself… the opinions expressed are my own and, perhaps it’s obvious, Conduct Unbecoming is not approved, endorsed, or authorized by the Department of Defense. I am not a military JAG and have never been a military JAG. While I’m a practicing attorney, I don’t do direct criminal defense. This podcast is a passion project, not legal advice or expert opinion.

026 US v. Strong

About a decade ago, as I prepared to enter the gauntlet of law school, my mom and I flew to Maui. It was a chance to relax before three years of stress culminating in the big bad Bar exam. We wanted to see the island from the top of Haleakala and made our way up the sometimes narrow, sometimes cliffside path. We found the occasional switch back navigable but we went slow and hugged the center line… when it was visible. Our path was much less treacherous than the switchbacks near Camp Natural Bridge and, unfortunately, we exercised a lot more care than Staff Sergeant Strong as we navigated up the mountain.

I relied on the ACCA appellate opinion as well as some of the briefs filed in the matter (1)(2)(3). Some additional procedural information is accessible on CAAF’s journal (1)(2).

I referenced information from: CBS News, Army Times (1)(2)(3)(4)(5), NY Post (1)(2), NY Times (1)(2), Stripes, Task and Purpose, AP News (1)(2), LoHud, Record Online, Atlanta Journal Constitution, NJ.com, Patch.com, Faraday bags, and the Carpenter SCOTUS opinion.

To learn more about the Christopher “CJ” Morgan Memorial Foundation, please visit cjmorganfoundation.org.

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025 US v. Alton

As residents of Las Vegas can attest, it’s not all showgirls and sequins. Once you get away from the glitz and out of view of the Sphere, it’s a lot like any other city where people live their day-to-day lives. They get up, exercise, go to work, raise their kids, and pay taxes in the usual cycle of adulthood. There’s one extraordinarily helpful advantage they’ve got on us, though. In a city famous for its excess and open container laws, it’s a little easier to hail a ride in an Uber, a Lyft, or a cab. In 2019, Air Force Staff Sergeant Alton decided it either wasn’t easy enough or cheap enough to do that and instead elected to drive the two miles home from the bar.

It’s a decision that cost Felix McNair his life.

I relied on the AFCCA appellate opinion for Alton and another for Marable.

I referenced information from: The Review Journal (1)(2), KTNV, 8 News Now, News 3 Las Vegas (1)(2), Facebook (1)(2), Wikipedia (1)(2), Edwards Flight Support Squadron, and Creech Air Force Base.

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https://open.spotify.com/episode/0GxBQTXOCbOQYwrZPbVdq9?si=257cb28344ac4a33

024 US v. Watlington

In the early days of stay at home orders, media outlets warned of a potential shadow epidemic. Furtively reported stories reminded Americans that there would be people sheltering in place with their abusers and we worried there would be a spike in deaths as a result of domestic violence. But perhaps what we didn’t think about, what we didn’t warn people about, was the danger of sheltering in a place with firearms, the risk of firearm fatalities by both murder and suicide. When lockdown and isolation led to intense boredom, Nuclear Machinist Mate Third Class Watlington worked on learning new tricks with his firearm and, tragically, forgot a critical step in gun safety.

I relied on the NMCCA appellate opinion.

I referenced information about: the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command, an article from the Navy Times, gun information from the Marine Corps, and data regarding gun deaths in the U.S.

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https://open.spotify.com/episode/0GxBQTXOCbOQYwrZPbVdq9?si=257cb28344ac4a33

023 US v. Ellerbrock

I’m going to let you in on a little secret – in common law countries, like the United States, the law is practiced, largely, by comparing your case to all the other cases and finding things that are the same or different. Like a complex “spot the differences” exercise. As lawyers, we’re working to compare our facts to those facts and explain why they should or shouldn’t be treated in the same way. Sometimes the application is straightforward, and makes a lot of sense, and sometimes, like today’s case, it asks us to treat a single incident as a pattern.

I relied on the ACCA appellate opinion as well as the CAAF appellate opinion.

I referenced information about: Military Rule of Evidence 412, Xanax (1)(2), and Effexor.

This episode involved discussion of sexual assault. There are a number of resources available for survivors and victim of sexual assault, including the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). They offer a free, confidential national sexual assault hotline at 800-656-HOPE as well as an online chat option.

Links to Listen:

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https://open.spotify.com/episode/0GxBQTXOCbOQYwrZPbVdq9?si=257cb28344ac4a33

022 US v. Melzer

In the soft rolling hills of Italy, with just days to go before deploying, a young soldier sent messages to his loved ones and prepared to travel to Turkey. He wasn’t supposed to share information about where he was going–troop movement security and all that–but he just couldn’t help himself. He wanted his loved ones to be able to find him, find him and his colleagues. It was unfortunate that his loved ones weren’t his parents or a high school sweetheart but other members of a white supremacist, neo-Nazi community.

I relied heavily on the sentencing brief from the US Attorney’s Office.

I referenced information from: Stripes, Vice, AP News, the Department of Justice, Washington Post, CNN, the NY Post, the Department of Labor, Rolling Stone, and the US Code (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).

This episode briefly discussed substance use issues. If you, or someone you know is struggling with substance use, the SAMHSA National Helpline can be reached at 1-800-662-HELP, and their treatment locator is available online.

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021 US v. Sullivan

It’s important to have at least some familiarity with the habits and interests of your partner. My spouse has a deep love of golf and while I can’t claim to be even halfway decent at the sport, I find a cute outfit and bop around the course anyway. Instagram suggests funny golf reels that I share with him in a self perpetuating algorithm cycle. In return, he displays whatever craft of the moment I’m fixated on. Unfortunately for the Sullivan family, Captain Michael Sullivan spent a fair amount of his time seizing illicit drugs on behalf of the United States Coast Guard. His wife, it would seem, got a little too interested in the use of cocaine.

I used the appellate court opinions: CGCCA, CAAF, the SCOTUS petition, and one of the briefs.

I referenced information from: Sullivan’s career, East Bay Times, USCG Boating, NYPD, medical uses of cocaine, the metabolism of cocaine, USCG seizure statistics, and Go Coast Guard.

This episode discussed substance use issues. If you, or someone you know is struggling with substance use, the SAMHSA National Helpline can be reached at 1-800-662-HELP and their treatment locator is available online.

Links to Listen:

Apple Podcasts · Spotify · Google · Amazon Music · I Heart · Audacy

020 US v. Easterly

I’ve detailed some of the concerning relationship patterns young folks who join the military engage in- namely, getting engaged awfully fast and married terribly young. The arrangement can be dicey- not every marriage survives the peaks and valleys of military life. In 2016, Senior Airman Chase Easterly began dating someone he really liked and felt like he might have a future with. Less than a week after their first date, he devised a plan. He packed a bag and showed up, ready to surprise her at her home. Easterly was there to embrace the “until death do us part” portion without the complications of the rest of the vows.

I used the appellate court opinions: AFCCA (1)(2), CAAF, as well as the briefs (1)(2).

I referenced information about:

Schizophrenia and other service-disqualifying diagnoses, doctor-patient privilege (1)(2), JBPHH, Landstuhl.

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