# Navy officer tried in bribery case. Why not court martialed? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 26, 2016, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-officer-tried-in-bribery-case-why-not-court-martialed/750234 "2016-03-26T11:40:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-officer-tried-in-bribery-case-why-not-court-martialed/750234/1 "2016-03-26T11:40:58Z")
Article here. [http://wapo.st/1RDK1FA](http://wapo.st/1RDK1FA) It says he was tried in district court. He’s an active-duty captain–why isn’t this a court martial? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-officer-tried-in-bribery-case-why-not-court-martialed/750234/2 "2016-03-26T12:12:34Z")
The Justice Dept and the Navy made an agreement to prosecute him in federal court. I’d imagine the Navy still has routes to punish him, like dishonorable discharge, in which case he would lose his military retirement. ---
**Author:** ![dba\_Fred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c37758/32.png) [@dba\_Fred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dba_Fred)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-officer-tried-in-bribery-case-why-not-court-martialed/750234/3 "2016-03-26T12:27:15Z")
Even with the Navy agreeing to forgo prosecuting him so the Justice Department could, he’ll be AWOL (Absent Without Leave) during his 46 months prison sentence so the Navy can get him on that 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-officer-tried-in-bribery-case-why-not-court-martialed/750234/4 "2016-03-26T12:51:22Z")
> [@dba\_Fred](#): > > Even with the Navy agreeing to forgo prosecuting him so the Justice Department could, he’ll be AWOL (Absent Without Leave) during his 46 months prison sentence so the Navy can get him on that 🙂 Not AWOL. When he gets out of prison he will still be on the hook for any commitment left. Of course he’s looking at an UCMJ Article 133. Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman when he does get back in the Navy’s clutches. Decades ago an E-3 showed up at my duty section. Some of the older guys knew him but I didn’t. He’d been in jail for 6 months for burglary downtown. That 6 months was added to his enlistment time. ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e47774/32.png) [@quiltguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-officer-tried-in-bribery-case-why-not-court-martialed/750234/5 "2016-03-26T14:52:36Z")
From JerrySTL: Decades ago an E-3 showed up at my duty section. Some of the older guys knew him but I didn’t. He’d been in jail for 6 months for burglary downtown. That 6 months was added to his enlistment time. The poor enlisted guy got screwed because he was an enlisted man. Officers usually get much better treatment. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-officer-tried-in-bribery-case-why-not-court-martialed/750234/6 "2016-03-26T15:16:10Z")
> [@JerrySTL](#): > > Not AWOL. When he gets out of prison he will still be on the hook for any commitment left. Of course he’s looking at an UCMJ Article 133. Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman when he does get back in the Navy’s clutches. He’s an officer. If he attended a service academy or had an ROTC scholarship, he had a 5 year commitment. By the time an officer makes O-4 (Major or Lieutenant Commander) he’s certainly fulfilled that. After that, an officer can put in his papers to resign his commission whenever he wants to. He’s got to wait until the paperwork goes through. Probably as part of his sentencing, they’ll give him a DD to revoke his retirement benefits. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-officer-tried-in-bribery-case-why-not-court-martialed/750234/7 "2016-03-27T01:24:06Z")
> [@dba\_Fred](#): > > Even with the Navy agreeing to forgo prosecuting him so the Justice Department could, he’ll be AWOL (Absent Without Leave) during his 46 months prison sentence so the Navy can get him on that 🙂 His duty status while in a civilian prison would be “IHCA” (“In the Hands of the Civil Authorities”). That time is usually considered “bad time”, meaning that it does credit for completion of a service obligation nor for pay. Depending on the reason for and severity of the sentence, a service member can be administratively separated while IHCA. As to why the trial was in a civil court, it’s basically the same reason someone may be tried in a state court instead of a federal court for a crime that could be tried under either one: which code provides for the more severe sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-officer-tried-in-bribery-case-why-not-court-martialed/750234/8 "2016-03-27T01:26:05Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > He’s an officer. If he attended a service academy or had an ROTC scholarship, he had a 5 year commitment. By the time an officer makes O-4 (Major or Lieutenant Commander) he’s certainly fulfilled that. After that, an officer can put in his papers to resign his commission whenever he wants to. He’s got to wait until the paperwork goes through. Probably as part of his sentencing, they’ll give him a DD to revoke his retirement benefits. Nobody can be given a DD (Dishonorable Discharge) or BCD (Bad Conduct Discharge) other than as part of the sentence of court-martial. A civil court, even federal, cannot order that. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-officer-tried-in-bribery-case-why-not-court-martialed/750234/9 "2016-03-27T01:31:50Z")
> [@JerrySTL](#): > > Not AWOL. When he gets out of prison he will still be on the hook for any commitment left. Of course he’s looking at an UCMJ Article 133. Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman when he does get back in the Navy’s clutches. AFAIK, that generally doesn’t happen. During my time in service, ADSEP seemed to be the order of the day for service members who ran afoul of the law and got locked up for some time by the state government. > [@](#): > > Decades ago an E-3 showed up at my duty section. Some of the older guys knew him but I didn’t. He’d been in jail for 6 months for burglary downtown. That 6 months was added to his enlistment time. That private got lucky! One Seaman (E-3) on my first ship deserted (after 30 days, an unauthorized absence becomes desertion if there were no other indicators of intention to be gone prior to the end of the 30 days). After being UA for over a year, IIRC, he was discharged in absentia. A few weeks after the discharge, he returned to the ship when it was in home-port. When presented with a copy of the discharge paper, he was astounded and said, “But I have nowhere else to go. I need to be in the Navy!” I never did find out what ultimately happened to him as I transferred the same week he returned. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-officer-tried-in-bribery-case-why-not-court-martialed/750234/10 "2016-03-27T02:14:19Z")
Corrected post! I left out a “not” (bolded here). > [@Monty](#): > > His duty status while in a civilian prison would be “IHCA” (“In the Hands of the Civil Authorities”). That time is usually considered “bad time”, meaning that it does **not** credit for completion of a service obligation nor for pay. Depending on the reason for and severity of the sentence, a service member can be administratively separated while IHCA. > > As to why the trial was in a civil court, it’s basically the same reason someone may be tried in a state court instead of a federal court for a crime that could be tried under either one: which code provides for the more severe sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-officer-tried-in-bribery-case-why-not-court-martialed/750234/11 "2016-03-27T03:59:40Z")
It may also have been part of a plea agreement. The Navy will want to be rid of him. But the agreement may have included him resigning his commission. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-officer-tried-in-bribery-case-why-not-court-martialed/750234/12 "2016-03-27T09:06:04Z")
> [@Snnipe\_70E](#): > > It may also have been part of a plea agreement. > > The Navy will want to be rid of him. But the agreement may have included him resigning his commission. Unless they want to punish him more. As long as he is part of the Navy, they can continue to punish him. Once he is discharged, they can’t. I am aware of cases where inactive officers have been recalled for punishment.