The Appellant in United States v. Sanders, 67 M.J. 344 (C.A.A.F. 2009) was found guilty, contrary to his pleas, by a judge alone general court-martial, of forcible sodomy, assault, and indecent assault. The adjudged and approved sentence was a dishonorable discharge, confinement for fourteen years, and reduction to E-1. The Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals (AFCCA) affirmed the findings and sentence. The military judge admitted during sentencing a handwritten letter recovered from the Appellant’s cell. The letter was the Appellant’s Last Will and Testament. The Appellant claimed the letter was improper rehabilitation evidence, improper aggravation evidence, highly prejudicial because of its challenge to the judge’s credibility, and would not pass the M.R.E. 403 balancing test. The CAAF ruled that if there was error in admitting the letter, the error was not prejudicial. The CAAF did not analyze if there was error in this case. The CAAF simply said if there was error, it was not prejudicial because “the military judge stated that she would not consider the personal attack on her” in the letter.Applying the principle that the “military judge is presumed to know the law and apply it correctly,” the CAAF observed “no indication that the military judge gave significant weight to the rest of the letter in arriving at the adjudged sentence.” The Court also observed the severity of the crimes and the fact that the Appellant only received a fourteen year sentence when facing life without the chance of parole.
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