United States v. Coates

Opinion of the Court

Quinn, Chief Judge:

A general court-martial convened in Saigon, Republic of Vietnam, convicted the accused of larceny, in violation of Article 121, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 USC § 921. Two questions dealing with corroboration of a pretrial statement by the accused provide the basis for this appeal.

The accused contends there is insufficient independent evidence in the record of trial to corroborate his confession. Since the offense was committed before the Manual for Courts-Mar-

tial, United States, 1969 (Revised edition), took effect, the degree of corroboration…