United States v. Bongiorni

Opinion of the Court

The accused Marine was found guilty, following trial before a general court-martial, of desertion terminated by apprehension, in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Article 85, 50 USC § 679. We are concerned here only with the sufficiency of the finding of apprehension, which rested solely upon two Government exhibits. These documents — Bongiorni’s service record book and the Formal Report of Absen*166tees and Deserters — both recited that he had been apprehended at 5:00 p.m. on January 12, 1955, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, by civilian law enforcement agents and…