U.S. AIR FORCE APPEALS COURT WELCOMES OBSERVERS TO PROCEEDING IN BELLEVILLE

In a rare appearance outside Washington, the U.S. Air Force Court of
Appeals heard in Belleville the appeal of a sergeant convicted in a
court-martial at a base in England.

The court goes "on the road" once or twice a year, partly to familiarize
people outside Washington with the military justice system, the presiding
judge, Col. James A. Young III, said Wednesday.

The case was scheduled to coincide with a worldwide symposium for military
paralegals from all the armed services. The host for the event was the U.S.
Transportation Command at Scott Air Force Base.

Oral arguments were heard in the theater at Southwestern Illinois College
in Belleville. The three-judge panel will render its decision later.

Listening closely from the audience were Judge Richard P. Goldenhersh of
the 5th District Appelate Court at Mount Vernon and U.S. District Judge
William D. Stiehl, a Navy veteran.

In a briefing before the court convened, Brig. Gen. James W. Swanson, top
lawyer for the Transportation Command and the Air Mobility Command,
compared military and civilian justice.

Swanson said civilians are often surprised to learn that members of the
armed forces accused of crimes enjoy more legal safeguards than civilians.
He said they include:

* Being informed of his or her rights, even before being taken into custody.

* Choosing disciplinary action other than court-martial in many cases.

* Having a free defense attorney, and receiving a free trial transcript,
regardless of economic status.

* Obtaining pretrial release except in the most serious cases, with no bail
required.

Swanson said the public may perceive military justice as harsh partly
because of its "zero tolerance" handling of drug violations that civilian
courts might view as no more serious than a traffic ticket.

He said that while getting high on marijuana may be no big deal in much the
civilian world, that hardly holds true for people responsible for the
world's most powerful weapons.

The Air Force staff sergeant, 28, whose case was heard Wednesday, was
accused of using and dealing marijuana and Ecstasy. He pleaded guilty.

His sentence? Ten months of confinement, reduction to lowest rank with loss
of pay, and a bad-conduct discharge. He was not present Wednesday.

The issue on appeal was not guilt or innocence. It was whether the base's
top legal officer had properly advised the commander who ordered the
court-martial of the military judge's clemency recommendation.

Capt. Lane Thurgood, arguing for the prosecution, said the commander had
already ordered clemency by setting aside $5,250 of the sergeant's pay loss
to be sent to his former wife for child support.

Maj. Jeff Brown, arguing for the defense, said the commander had not been
properly informed of the judge's recommendation. He said it didn't matter
how merciful the sentence might appear.

Young, the chief judge, acknowledged that military defendants sometimes
complained that their commander's opinion biased their jury.

But Young said few people on military juries even know their commander's
opinion of the case they are handling. He added, "Nor do they care."