United States v. Elrod

DECISION

KASTL, Senior Judge:

The evidentiary issue before us — admissibility of a record of nonjudicial punishment — arose during the presentencing portion of Senior Airman Elrod’s general court-martial in England. The military judge, over defense objection, admitted a locally-held copy of an Article 15 record of nonjudicial punishment.1 We find he erred and reassess the sentence.

Two provisions reveal which personnel records of an accused properly may be offered by the prosecution on presentencing. First, Paragraph 75b (2) of the Manual for Courts-Martial provides that:

Under regulations of the…