writing – Page 4 – Conduct Unbecoming

050 TX v. Perry

Our cell phones bear witness to our insecurities, patiently returning search results for the things that spark in our brains that we need immediate answers to. Mine, if you were wondering, would tattle on me for my deep election anxiety. Army Sergeant Perry’s phone laid out a path to radicalization – winding around his interest in underage girls, past his view that Afghans weren’t people, and ending in the murder of a racial justice advocate.

I relied on three legal documents (1)(2)(3), and a variety of news sources: Army Times, Fox 7 (1)(2)(3), Texas Tribune, Wikipedia, Texas Monthly, BBC, KXAN, CNN, Reason.com, Military.com, and CBS Austin.

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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.

049 US v. Smith

About this time two years ago, the weather in Virginia had just begun to shift from crisp to cold and I decided it was time to fill up my tires because the cold made the air inside sluggish. I first tried to plump them up at Costco, but I’m an early bird and I got there before hours and their pumps weren’t turned on. I knew that my impatience meant I’d have to pay to fill the tires, but set off for a gas station near my house anyway. When I got there, I was able to pull right into the spot next to the hose and hopped out to go get change to feed the machine. Then, a man who’d pulled up behind me laid on his horn. I looked up, startled by the noise, and he wagged his finger at me. I hadn’t darted ahead of him so I tried to figure out what sparked his ire. I held up my dollar bill then gestured towards the pump, trying to communicate that I just needed to make change. In response, he pulled a firearm and laid it on the dash. For that man and Airman First Class Smith, there’s just something about gas stations that calls for brandishing a firearm.

I used information from the AFCCA opinion, the CAAF opinion, and some appellate briefing.

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048 US v. Hirst

At work, I have a little white board where I can see at a glance where all of my projects are – it’s not entirely dissimilar to the surgery board in Grey’s Anatomy, except my projects are not life or death and don’t require nearly so much room. It’s color coded, and I’m acutely aware when any one task is hanging out longer than it should be. I think, given my work organizational skills, I’d be excellent at maintaining a chain of evidence. Fortunately, or unfortunately, for Gunnery Sergeant Hirst, his substance abuse control officer did not have any of the same skills.

I referenced three separate cases in this episode and am linking the appellate opinions for Hirst, Mendoza (ACCA)(CAAF), and Harvey (NMCCA)(CAAF). I also relied on a Stripes article about Hirst.

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.

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047 US v. Helvey

I used to have this recurring nightmare about going into a restroom and instead of finding a stereotypical American toilet, I’d encounter the kind that required the user to squat over them. It didn’t occur to me until I wandered into a nature park restroom in Japan that the style of restroom was common in the areas my family traveled when I was very young, leaving the indelible mark on my developing brain. My restroom nightmare was objectively so silly and borne of unfamiliarity with that particular style of plumbing… I haven’t had the dream again after placing it in the right context. Where my trip to a random park bathroom in Japan cured me of a silly ignorant fear, Terry Helvey, a sailor, stalked a shipmate into park bathroom to commit a hate crime and set off decades of unrelenting nightmares for Allen Schindler’s surviving family members.

I referenced information from Wikipedia, the New York Times (1)(2)(3)(4), Chicago Tribune, Windy City Times, Washington Blade (1)(2)(3), Dallas Voice, Washington Post, LA Times, Georgetown Law, and the Justice Department.

This episode discusses crimes committed against a member of the LGBTQ community. If you are a member of the community seeking assistance or support, please reach out to any of the incredible organizations suggested by PFLAG.

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046 TX v. Murphy

I am a human who gets to the airport with as much lead time as possible to get through security, confirm my gate exists, and then try to be chill. I say try because I have no chill while traveling, I stress sweat and keep getting up to see if our plane has pulled up to our gate. I have the best of intentions with the most generous of timelines, and things still routinely go haywire.

One sailor, Marcus Murphy, had no such fears and forged ahead with a much leaner travel schedule, he had to be precise with his calculations. He carefully coordinated his drive to an out-of-state airport, flew with a family member, had a layover of only about four hours, and made it back to his return flight with time to spare. He wasn’t traveling with my kind of generous timeline, but more importantly, he wasn’t traveling with my best of intentions. He was traveling to commit a carefully timed murder.

I relied heavily on the Texas appellate opinion. I also referenced information from KWTX, Youtube, ABC 13, KHOU, KIRO7, Houston PD, WFTV, Family Abuse Center, The Guardian, Tulane, and the American College of Surgeons.

This episode discussed the most severe form of intimate partner violence. For more information on intimate partner violence, I urge you to explore Alliance For Hope and their Family Justice Center Alliance. If you need help finding shelter in your area, please visit DomesticShelters.org. Last, but not least, many law schools and courthouses offer free legal assistance for people seeking protective restraining orders.

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045 US v. Cook

When a job is wrapping up, it’s only natural to turn an eye to what comes next. Folks getting out of the military can speak with people trained in supporting servicemembers transitioning into civilian life and get one-on-one support with resume writing, job applications, and interview preparation. That route isn’t for everyone, and some people forge their own path into civilian life.

For Airman Cook, preparing for his administrative separation from the Air Force, that path looked like partnering up with one of his close friends in a transportation job. Instead of long-haul trucking or food slinging, the duo decided to get into human smuggling.

My main source was the AFCCA opinion.

I also relied on information from the NWF Daily News, Davis Monthan AF Base, Wikipedia (1)(2), World Vision, Rand, and the History Channel.

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044 WA v. Byrne

What we don’t talk about in the Bar is that law school ruins eyeballs. Looking between our incoming class photo and photos from my 3L year, I clocked a lot of new framed faces. I went that opposite direction – I went from wearing glasses to wearing contacts. Learning to wear contacts was not without bumps and the most significant setback took place at the beginning, in my optometrist’s office. The optometrist brought me over to a backless stool near a well lit mirror so I could learn how to put my new lenses in and I recognized I was a little “medical environment” woozy. I explained that I needed a moment on the couch across the room. But the internal light switch went out before I got there and I broke the bottom pane of a glass door with my head on the way down. I came to with the sound of falling glass gently tinkling around me and missing a small clump of hair. Then, in the haze of my concussion, the optometrist asked me to sign a hurriedly typed up agreement that I wouldn’t sue.

As I signed the document, I remember thinking that I didn’t believe it could possibly be enforceable, given my head injury moments before. But my ability, or inability, to think through contracts and torts in the wake of my injury required high level thinking and analysis. It wasn’t something straightforward. After getting his bell rung, Army Ranger Specialist Byrne claimed the hit was so severe, he couldn’t appreciate or understand that beating someone to death was wrong.

This episode involved a very brief 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.

I relied on information from the Army Times, News Tribune, King 5, Kiro 7, Law and Crime, the probable cause affidavit, Twin Cities Bin News, Daily Mail, Atlanta Black Star, Go Army, History Net, KEPR TV, Disabled American Veterans, and the Washington penal code.

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043 US v. The Port Chicago 50

Growing up in the Golden State means a certain familiarity with warm Summers and fire risks. We worry about lightning strikes, gender reveal parties that involve any kind of explosives, and lost hikers who, for some unknown reason, light a flare instead of using their working cell phone to summon assistance. The California I grew up in is this way because of an awareness of a challenging climate, drought conditions, and, frankly, hindsight. But for all that awareness, I was surprised to discover the tale of a large, dangerous explosion with civil rights implications that I had never heard of. A case of mass trials, mass incarceration, and segregation. As the dust and ash settled over the remains of Port Chicago and hundreds of dead sailors, the criminal case was just beginning.

I relied on information from ABC News, Navy historians (1)(2)(3)(4), Mercury News, Uniform Reference, the US Naval Institute, the National WWII Museum, the Navy Press Office, and Wikipedia.

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042 US v. Wilkerson

Any time I’ve walked into a barracks building, I’m immediately transported back to freshman year at the college dorms. There’s a lot of growing up that happens in both spaces for a similarly aged group. It can be a really joyful and festive atmosphere, and I often think of how simple and easy it was to just leave the deadbolt out on your door so you friends could come and go while you got ready to attend an event together. No transit time, no concerns about someone riding solo in a sketchy cab. Your friends were there and always accessible. But for Shannon Wilkerson, life in the barracks made everyone a little too available. He could flit from a party in one room to his wife’s room down the hall, then over to an affair partner’s room next door. In the fall of 2001, his easy access to people in the barracks proved fatal.

I referenced the Eleventh Circuit appellate opinion.

I relied on information from the New York Times (1)(2), the Department of Justice (1)(2), Naval Institute of Military Justice, Andalusia Star News, CBS News, KBTX, Kentucky New Era, Military Times, Task and Purpose, WKMS, Times News, Clarksville Online, and Arkansas Leader.

Although I didn’t reference it in the episode, I’ll take these show notes as an opportunity to remind you, Legal Beagles, that homicide is the leading cause of death for pregnant and postpartum people.

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041 FL v. Williams

Petty Officer Williams woke to the sound of her alarm in the morning of November 6th. Williams, the mother to a five-year-old, should have woken to the soft noises of her child stirring in the next room. Perhaps she would have normally tripped over errant clothing even a dreaded Lego piece as she began to don her uniform and prepare for work. Instead of a debate over breakfast choices, Williams stepped into her boots and adjusted her cover in silence. She prepared like it was any other day, then staged a phone call to the police to report her child missing.

The appellate opinion was not, objectively, helpful. Nevertheless, it can be found here.

I relied on information from Jacksonville.com (1)(2), People, Yahoo, News 4 Jax (1)(2), Law and Crime, the Florida Courts website, TikTok, First Coast News (1)(2)(3)(4). Though it isn’t directly relevant to this case, I’m also linking to the portion of the California Constitution that requires appellate opinions to include their reasoning.

This episode involves discussion of two difficult topics: child abuse and neglect, and suicide. If you suspect child abuse, please call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. Separately, if you are experience thoughts of self-harm, I urgent you to contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988. Help is also available via chat on their website.

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