United States v. Alderman

Opinion

Quinn, Judge:

Evidence of two previous convictions, one by summary court-martial and the other by special court-martial, was admitted against the accused at his trial before a military judge sitting as a special court-martial. The question presented by this appeal is whether the evidence was erroneously admitted because the convictions were invalid within the meaning of the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Argersinger v Hamlin, 407 US 25 (1972), which held that an accused is entitled to counsel at a trial at which he is sentenced to confinement.

The right to “assistance of…