United States v. Johnson

Opinion of the Court

ROBERT E. Quinn, Chief Judge:

This is an appeal from a conviction for indecent acts, in violation of Article 134, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 USC § 934. The question before us is the legal sufficiency of the law officer’s instructions.

D. T. Erdman, an eighteen-year-old apprentice seaman, occupied a lower bunk in the S-3 Division of the U.S.S. Hancock. The accused had the adjoining bunk in the next tier. The two beds were separated by a distance of about 3i inches. In the early morning hours of Monday, June 6, 1955, Erdman was awakened by certain indecent movements…