United States v. Guihama (2024)

I join the Court's opinion except for parts II.B.2.a. and II.B.2.b. I do not join those two parts because they involve difficult issues that the Court need not decide in this appeal. Military Rule of Evidence 304(c)(1) provides that “[a]n admission or a confession of the accused may be considered as evidence against the accused on the question of guilt or innocence only if independent evidence ․ has been admitted into evidence that would tend to establish the trustworthiness of the admission or confession.” The Court correctly determines that ample independent evidence—namely, interview statements, preliminary hearing testimony, and Appellant's military records—supports an inference of the truth of Appellant's admissions in this case. Accordingly, it does not matter whether the additional evidence that the Court discusses at length in parts II.B.2.a. and II.B.2.b. also supports, or does not support, an inference of the truth of Appellant's admissions. I therefore respectfully concur in the opinion in part and in the judgment.

Judge MAGGS, concurring in part and concurring in the judgment.