United States v. Thatcher

Opinion of the Court

EVERETT, Chief Judge:

In this appeal from a special court-mar*21tial conviction for larceny,1 appellant argues that the military judge erred in denying a defense motion to suppress as evidence the pilfered items which had been seized during an alleged “health-and-comfort” inspection pursuant to Mil.R.Evid. 313(b), Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, 1984. Specifically, appellant urges that the “inspection” was a subterfuge to search for criminal evidence without probable cause. We agree.

I

One Monday morning in January 1985, Corporal Cerullo, the Company Police Sergeant,…