No. 22-530

Daniel A. Bench v. United States

Lower Court: Armed Forces
Docketed: 2022-12-08
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Response Waived
Tags: child-witness confrontation confrontation-right court-martial plain-error prosecutorial-misconduct remote-testimony sixth-amendment
Key Terms:
JusticiabilityDoctri
Latest Conference: 2023-01-06
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Does a prosecutor's in-court lie to secure a witness's testimony constitute misconduct that materially prejudices an accused's' Sixth Amendment right to confrontation or other substantial right?

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTION PRESENTED Petitioner was tried before a general court-martial for, inter alia, sexually abusing his autistic son. During the son’s live remote testimony, he expressed concerns over testifying against his father. The prosecutor responded—without objection—by falsely stating that Petitioner was not then present in the courtroom. On appeal, Petitioner alleged the prosecutor’s lie constituted misconduct that prejudiced his Sixth Amendment right to confrontation. Reviewing the issue for plain error, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) found the matter to be one of first impression, in that no court has held that the Sixth Amendment requires a child testifying remotely to be aware that the defendant is viewing their testimony. Consequently, the CAAF found no plain or obvious error. The CAAF never addressed prejudice nor prosecutorial misconduct. The Question Presented is: Does a prosecutor’s in-court lie to secure a witness’s testimony constitute misconduct that materially prejudices an accused’s’ Sixth Amendment right to confrontation or other substantial right? i

Docket Entries

2023-01-09
Petition DENIED.
2022-12-21
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/6/2023.
2022-12-14
Waiver of right of respondent United States to respond filed.
2022-12-06
2022-11-01
Application (22A365) granted by The Chief Justice extending the time to file until December 7, 2022.
2022-10-31
Application (22A365) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from November 6, 2022 to December 7, 2022, submitted to The Chief Justice.

Attorneys

Daniel A. Bench
Alexandra Kristen FleszarUnited States Air Force Appellate Defense Division, Petitioner
Alexandra Kristen FleszarUnited States Air Force Appellate Defense Division, Petitioner
United States
Elizabeth B. PrelogarSolicitor General, Respondent
Elizabeth B. PrelogarSolicitor General, Respondent