United States v. Lopez

I concur in the result.

I agree with my brothers that the accused’s conviction may be affirmed but I disassociate myself from the avenue by which they reach that result.

While defects in preliminary hearings are to be measured by the test of specific prejudice (United States v Cunningham, 12 USCMA 402, 30 CMR 402 (1961)), their presence in the record of trial many times reflects either neglect on the part of trial lawyers or a belief that failure to follow procedural rules and statutory provisions cannot affect due process of law. Either of these two views indicates a breakdown in the system of…