United States v. Mizuta

United States Navy–Marine Corps
Court of Criminal Appeals
_________________________
UNITED STATES
Appellee
v.
Daniel K. MIZUTA
Lance Corporal (E-3), U.S. Marine Corps
Appellant
No. 201800269
Appeal from the United States Navy-Marine Corps Trial Judiciary
Decided: 5 March 2019.
Military Judge:
Commander William Weiland, JAGC, USN.
Sentence adjudged 22 May 2018 by a general court-martial convened
at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, consisting of a military
judge sitting alone. Sentence approved by convening authority:
reduction to E-1, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, confinement for
18 months, and a bad-conduct discharge.
For Appellant:
Major James S. Kresge, USMCR.
For Appellee:
Brian K. Keller, Esq.
_________________________
This opinion does not serve as binding precedent under
NMCCA Rule of Appellate Procedure 30.2(a).
_________________________
Before WOODARD, FULTON, and ELLINGTON,
Appellate Military Judges.
United States v. Mizuta, No. 201800269
PER CURIAM:
After careful consideration of the record, submitted without assignment of
error, we have determined that the approved findings and sentence are cor-
rect in law and fact and that no error materially prejudicial to Appellant’s
substantial rights occurred. Articles 59 and 66, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. §§ 859,
866. 1
The findings and sentence as approved by the convening authority are
AFFIRMED.
FOR THE COURT:
RODGER A. DREW, JR.
Clerk of Court
1 We note that the record of trial was authenticated by the court reporter. RULE
FOR COURT-MARTIAL 1104(A)(2)(B), MANUAL FOR COURTS-MARTIAL, UNITED STATES
(2016 ed.), permits a court reporter in a judge-alone trial to authenticate a record of
trial, but only if “the military judge cannot authenticate the record of trial because of
the military judge’s death, disability, or absence” and “the trial counsel [present at
the end of the trial] cannot authenticate the record of trial because of the trial coun-
sel’s death, disability, or absence . . . .” The authentication page fails to indicate that
the military judge and trial counsel were not available to authenticate the record of
trial. However, in a hand-written note on a checklist attached to another part of the
record, there is a reference that the military judge and trial counsel were unavailable
to authenticate the record. Recognizing that in the future—for cases referred to trial
on or after 1 January 2019—new procedures will apply, in the meantime a court re-
porter remains unauthorized to authenticate the record unless certain conditions ex-
ist. Those preconditions should be clearly set out as part of any substitute authenti-
cation done by a court reporter or a trial counsel.
2