United States v. Smith

Opinion of the Court

ROBERT E. Quinn, Chief Judge:

The accused pleaded guilty to unauthorized absence and the larceny of $495.00 entrusted to him by enlisted personnel for deposit in the Soldiers’ Deposit Fund. He was sentenced to dismissal, total forfeitures, and confinement at hard labor for one year.

In the course of his instructions on the sentence, the law officer advised the court-martial that “an officer may not be sentenced to confinement unless the sentence includes dismissal, nor may he be sentenced to hard labor without confinement in any case.” Manual for Courts-Martial, United…