The National Security, Cybersecurity, and Foreign Relations Law Program along with the Military Law Society and National Security Law Association hosted the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals for an oral argument, followed by a Q&A session. Appellate Judges Captain Amanda Myers, Colonel Peter Houtz, and Captain Colin Kisor presided over the hearing. Military criminal appellate courts have held annual oral argument hearings at GW Law, as part of their public outreach programs, since 2009.
The court heard arguments in the case of United States v. Harvey. Appellant, Hospital Corpsman First Class (HM1) Rodney D. Harvey, was convicted by a military judge, sitting as a general court-martial, contrary to his pleas, of one specification of indecent exposure. The Appellant was charged but acquitted of two specifications of aggravated sexual contact and one specification of assault consummated by battery. The military judge sentenced the Appellant to a reduction to paygrade E-1, confinement for one year, and a dishonorable discharge. The facts of this case arise from an incident in which the Appellant at or near Bremerton, Washington, on or about April 28, 2021, intentionally expose his genitalia in an indecent manner to C.E. in a public parking lot.
The Appellant asserts three issues on appeal. The first issue asked whether the Appellant's conviction for indecent exposure is factually and legally sufficient where the exposure—if it happened at all—occurred late at night in a parking lot, obscured by surrounding vehicles, with no one around, and the alleged victim consented to exposure. Issue two asked whether the military judge erred by denying the defense's request to instruct the members on the panel of reasonable mistake of fact as to consent for indecent exposure. The final issue asked whether the military judge erred in admitting a stipulation of fact from a prior court-martial as a personnel record under Rule for Courts-Martial (RCM) 1001(b)(2).
After the hearing concluded, students in the audience had the opportunity to ask questions. A reception followed and students were able to talk with the judges and recruiting officers from all the military services in attendance.
