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Cedric L. McDonald v. United States
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, No. 18-0308/AR · judgment April 17, 2019
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Question presented
Of the thousands of courts-martial convened each year, a significant percentage—in some years nearly half—involve a charge that the accused sexually assaulted a complaining witness. The Uniform Code of Military Justice criminalizes any sexual act accomplished by causing bodily harm to another person. 10 U.S.C. § 920(b)(1)(B) (2012). The statute defines “bodily harm” as “any offensive touching of another, however slight, including any nonconsensual sexual act or nonconsensual sexual contact.” This Court has repeatedly emphasized the import of requiring a “vicious will” on the part of an accused—absent a clear legislative intent to do away with one—to support a conviction. Yet, the lower court interpreted congressional silence as to the accused’s state of mind to require merely that the prosecution prove that a reasonable person would believe the complaining witness did not consent. The question presented is: Whether Congress’s omission of a mens rea for the offense of sexual assault by bodily harm means mere negligence as to the lack of consent suffices. (i)
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Steven Joseph Dray
United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps
For respondent
Noel John Francisco
Jones Day
Proceedings
- Mar 30 2020Petition DENIED.
- Mar 11 2020DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/27/2020.
- Mar 10 2020Reply of petitioner McDonald filed.
- Feb 21 2020Brief of respondent United States in opposition filed.
- Jan 06 2020Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including February 21, 2020.
- Jan 03 2020Motion to extend the time to file a response from January 22, 2020 to February 21, 2020, submitted to The Clerk.
- Dec 18 2019Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including January 22, 2020.
- Dec 17 2019Motion to extend the time to file a response from December 23, 2019 to January 22, 2020, submitted to The Clerk.
- Nov 22 2019Brief amicus curiae of U.S. Army Trial Defense Service filed.
- Nov 21 2019Response Requested. (Due December 23, 2019)
- Nov 13 2019DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/6/2019.
- Nov 01 2019Waiver of right of respondent United States to respond filed.
- Oct 28 2019Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due November 29, 2019)
- Aug 19 2019Application (19A191) granted by The Chief Justice extending the time to file until October 26, 2019.
- Aug 06 2019Application (19A191) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from August 27, 2019 to October 26, 2019, submitted to The Chief Justice.