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Smart Summary

Factual and Procedural Background

William L. Calley, Jr. was found guilty by a military jury on March 29, 1971, of premeditated murder of at least twenty-two Vietnamese civilians and assault with intent to murder another. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labor, dismissal from the service, and forfeiture of all pay and allowances. The convening authority approved the conviction but reduced the confinement to twenty years. The Court of Military Review affirmed the conviction in 1973, and the Court of Military Appeals affirmed later that year, denying reconsideration in early 1974. The Secretary of the Army approved the findings and sentence and later commuted the confinement portion to ten years. The President reviewed the case and decided no further action was warranted.

In early 1974, Calley learned the Army planned to move him from house arrest at Fort Benning, Georgia, to the disciplinary barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. On February 11, 1974, Calley filed a habeas corpus petition in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, along with a request for a temporary restraining order and bail pending final determination. The District Court issued an ex parte restraining order preventing relocation or change in confinement conditions and subsequently granted bail on February 27. The government moved to revoke bail or stay the order, but the District Court denied this motion on May 10, 1974. This appeal followed.

Legal Issues Presented

  1. Whether bail should be granted to a military prisoner pending postconviction habeas corpus review.
  2. Whether the District Court properly applied the legal standard for granting bail in such circumstances.

Arguments of the Parties

The opinion does not contain a detailed account of the parties' legal arguments.

Table of Precedents Cited

Precedent Rule or Principle Cited For Application by the Court
Aronson v. May, 85 S.Ct. 3, 13 L.Ed.2d 6 (1964) Bail pending habeas corpus should be granted only if substantial constitutional claims exist with high probability of success and extraordinary circumstances justify bail. The court cited Aronson to establish the two-fold standard for bail in postconviction habeas cases and concluded it was not met here.
Glynn v. Donnelly, 470 F.2d 95 (1st Cir. 1972) Examples of extraordinary circumstances that may justify bail pending habeas corpus review. Referenced as part of the standard to determine whether bail is appropriate.
Woodcock v. Donnelly, 470 F.2d 93 (1st Cir. 1972) Extraordinary circumstances and bail considerations in habeas corpus cases. Used to illustrate examples of extraordinary circumstances that justify bail.
Benson v. California, 328 F.2d 159 (9th Cir. 1964), cert. denied 380 U.S. 951 Requirement of exceptional circumstances to grant bail pending habeas corpus in cases involving conviction by court. Referenced to support the principle that bail pending habeas corpus requires special justification.
Boyer v. City of Orlando, 402 F.2d 966 (5th Cir. 1968) Examples of extraordinary circumstances justifying bail. Used as an example of cases where bail was granted due to extraordinary circumstances.
Baker v. Sard, 420 F.2d 1342 (D.C. Cir. 1969) Standards for bail pending habeas corpus review. Referenced as part of the legal framework for bail in collateral attack cases.
United States ex rel. Ackerman v. Pennsylvania, 133 F. Supp. 627 (W.D. Pa. 1955) Serious deterioration of health as extraordinary circumstance justifying bail. Illustrated as an example of extraordinary circumstances warranting bail.
Johnston v. Marsh, 227 F.2d 528 (3d Cir. 1955) Health deterioration as extraordinary circumstance for bail. Cited to support examples of extraordinary circumstances.
Noyd v. Bond, 395 U.S. 683, 89 S.Ct. 1876, 23 L.Ed.2d 631 (1969) Short sentences nearing completion as justification for bail pending collateral review. Used to illustrate circumstances where bail facilitates effective collateral review.
Levy v. Parker, 396 U.S. 1204, 90 S.Ct. 1, 24 L.Ed.2d 25 (1969) Similar to Noyd, short remaining sentence can justify bail. Referenced to show examples of extraordinary circumstances.
10 U.S.C. § 858 (Article 58) Authority over place and conditions of military custody. Applied to affirm that military authorities have control over Calley's custody pending habeas determination.

Court's Reasoning and Analysis

The court emphasized the established two-fold standard for granting bail to a military prisoner pending habeas corpus review: (1) the petitioner must raise substantial constitutional claims with a high probability of success on the merits, and (2) extraordinary or exceptional circumstances must exist to make bail necessary to ensure the habeas remedy is effective. This standard, articulated in Aronson v. May and other precedents, requires a higher showing when bail is sought after a judicial conviction.

Examining the record, the court found that the District Court did not properly apply this rigorous standard when granting bail to Calley. The allegations and circumstances presented did not meet the threshold of substantial constitutional claims nor did they demonstrate extraordinary circumstances justifying bail. Consequently, the court reversed the District Court's order granting bail.

Furthermore, the court ordered Calley returned to full military custody, including control over his place and conditions of confinement under 10 U.S.C. § 858. The government committed to bringing Calley before the District Court when necessary to participate in the habeas proceedings.

Holding and Implications

The court REVERSED the District Court's order granting bail and REMANDED the case.

The direct effect of this decision is that Calley was returned to full military custody pending the resolution of his habeas corpus petition. The court reaffirmed the strict standards governing bail in postconviction habeas cases and did not establish any new precedent beyond applying the existing legal framework. No broader implications beyond the parties were discussed.

WILLIAM L. CALLEY, JR., PETITIONER-APPELLEE, v. HOWARD H. CALLAWAY, SECRETARY OF THE ARMY, ET AL., RESPONDENTS-APPELLANTS.

PER CURIAM:

Appellants-Respondents contest District Court orders restraining any change in petitioner-appellee Calley's place or conditions of confinement, and granting bail to petitioner-appellee Calley pending a final determination on the merits of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. We reverse.

On March 29, 1971, Calley was found guilty by a military jury of premeditated murder of not fewer than twenty-two Vietnamese civilians and of assault with intent to murder one Vietnamese civilian. He was sentenced to confinement at hard labor for life, dismissal from the service, and forfeiture of all pay and allowances. The convening authority approved the finding of guilty and the sentence, except that he reduced the confinement portion of the sentence to twenty years.

On February 16, 1973, the Court of Military Review affirmed Calley's conviction in a seventy-page opinion and denied his petition for a new trial. United States v. Calley, 46 CMR 1131 (ACMR 1973). The Court of Military Appeals affirmed on December 21, 1973, United States v. Calley, 22 USCMA 534, 48 CMR 19 (1973), and denied a petition for reconsideration on February 4, 1974. The Secretary of the Army approved the findings and sentence of the court-martial on April 15, 1974. In a separate action, the Secretary commuted the confinement portion of the sentence to ten years. The President of the United States notified the Secretary of the Army on May 3, 1974, that he had reviewed the case and had determined that no further action would be taken.

At some time in early 1974, Calley learned that the Department of the Army would move him on February 12 from Fort Benning, Georgia, where he was under house arrest, to the disciplinary barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. On February 11 Calley instituted an action for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. Calley also filed a separate request for a temporary restraining order to prevent his removal from the jurisdiction and an application for bail pending the final determination of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. The District Court issued an ex parte order on February 11 restraining the respondents from changing the place of custody of the petitioner or the conditions of his confinement. On February 27, after the submission of briefs, evidence and oral argument, the District Court released Calley upon one thousand dollars bond pending determination of his petition for the writ. On March 8, 1974, the appellants-respondents filed a motion to revoke bail or alternatively to stay the Court's order of February 27. Following a hearing, the District Court denied the appellants-respondents' motion on May 10, 1974. This appeal followed.

Bail should be granted to a military prisoner pending postconviction habeas corpus review only when the petitioner has raised substantial constitutional claims upon which he has a high probability of success, and also when extraordinary or exceptional circumstances exist which make the grant of bail necessary to make the habeas remedy effective. See Aronson v. May, 1964, 85 S.Ct. 3, 13 L.Ed.2d 6 (Douglas, J. on application for bail); Glynn v. Donnelly, 1 Cir., 1972, 470 F.2d 95; Woodcock v. Donnelly, 1 Cir., 1972, 470 F.2d 93; Benson v. California, 9 Cir., 1964, 328 F.2d 159, cert. denied, 380 U.S. 951, 85 S.Ct. 1086, 13 L.Ed.2d 970; Boyer v. City of Orlando, 5 Cir., 1968, 402 F.2d 966, 968; Baker v. Sard, 1969, 137 U.S. App.D.C. 139, 420 F.2d 1342.

In Aronson Mr. Justice Douglas opined as follows:

"Second: This applicant is incarcerated because he has been tried, convicted, and sentenced by a court of law. He now attacks his conviction in a collateral proceeding. It is obvious that a greater showing of special reasons for admission to bail pending review should be required in this kind of case than would be required in a case where applicant had sought to attack by writ of habeas corpus an incarceration not resulting from a judicial determination of guilt. Cf. Yanish v. Barber, 73 S.Ct. 1105, 97 L.Ed. 1637 (1953). In this kind of case it is therefore necessary to inquire whether, in addition to there being substantial questions presented by the appeal, there is some circumstance making this application exceptional and deserving of special treatment in the interests of justice. See Benson v. California, 328 F.2d 159 (CA 9th Cir. 1964). The papers before me on this application indicate the existence of no such circumstance."

Some examples of extraordinary circumstances are serious deterioration of the petitioner's health while incarcerated, United States ex rel. Ackerman v. Pennsylvania, W.D.Pa. 1955, 133 F. Supp. 627, writ of mandamus denied; Johnston v. Marsh, 3 Cir., 1955, 227 F.2d 528; Woodcock v. Donnelly, 1 Cir., 1972, 470 F.2d 93; short sentences for relatively minor crimes so near completion that extraordinary action is essential to make collateral review truly effective. Noyd v. Bond, 1965, 395 U.S. 683, 689, 89 S.Ct. 1876, 23 L.Ed.2d 631 (all but two days of one-year sentence served); Levy v. Parker, 1969, 396 U.S. 1204, 90 S.Ct. 1, 24 L.Ed.2d 25, affirmed by full Court, 1969, 396 U.S. 804, 90 S.Ct. 47, 24 L.Ed.2d 60 (all but twelve days of three-year sentence served); Boyer v. City of Orlando, supra (one hundred twenty-day sentence); or possibly extraordinary delay in processing a habeas corpus petition, Glynn v. Donnelly, supra.

In the present case, our examination convinces us that the District Court did not really apply the above-described two-fold standard in determining whether to grant bail to Calley. Applying the proper standard to the facts of this case, we conclude that the allegations made by Calley, and the circumstances revealed by the record, do not justify a grant of bail pending determination of the merits of the petition.

We therefore reverse the order granting bail, and return Calley to military custody pending determination by the District Court of the merits of Calley's petition for habeas corpus relief. In returning Calley to military custody, we return him to full military custody, including the prescription of the place of his custody and the conditions of his custody, Article 58, 10 U.S.C. § 858 (1970). At oral argument, the Government pledged that Calley will be brought before the District Court if and when that Court deems it necessary or appropriate for Calley to be present to advise with counsel or to participate in the proceedings before the District Court.

Reversed and remanded. Mandate to issue forthwith.

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CALLEY v. CALLAWAY
(Jul 19, 1974)