{"id":20451,"date":"2016-01-01T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-01-01T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/iacpmag.wp.matrixdev.net\/conduct-unbecoming-lessons-from-the-military\/"},"modified":"2024-10-08T13:32:00","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T17:32:00","slug":"conduct-unbecoming-lessons-from-the-military","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/conduct-unbecoming-lessons-from-the-military\/","title":{"rendered":"Chief’s Counsel: Conduct Unbecoming: Lessons from the Military"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <\/p>\n<p>For decades, police departments have been using the charge of \u201cconduct unbecoming\u201d when disciplining officers. Although a divided U.S. Supreme Court upheld the charge of conduct unbecoming an officer in the 1974 U.S. Army court-martial (criminal) case of <i>Parker v. Levy,<\/i> it noted that such a charge would not be valid in civilian situations.<sup>1<\/sup> Although most state courts and lower federal courts have upheld the validity of this disciplinary rule in the face of constitutional challenges, generally characterizing police agencies as \u201cpara-military\u201d in nature, police chiefs should be cautious lest they invite a Supreme Court review that might result in a decision barring its use altogether for police officers or other municipal employees. There are several steps chiefs can take to limit the likelihood of such challenges, some of which come from a review of how the military has used the charge since the <i>Levy<\/i> decision.<\/p>\n<p>Even though courts might be more lenient in reviewing the constitutionality of charges brought in disciplinary cases than in criminal ones, simply naming \u201cconduct unbecoming\u201d in a list of possible disciplinary offenses, without any detail of what it means, invites a challenge. In order to discipline a police officer, a department needs to demonstrate that the individual was aware that his or her conduct was prohibited and could result in discipline. This is best accomplished by having a comprehensive set of rules and regulations. Most such rules are self-explanatory. However, a charge of conduct unbecoming, without an explanation of its elements, and lacking proof that the officer was trained in its scope and implications or given a warning that a certain type of conduct was not allowed, is susceptible to constitutional challenges as being void for vagueness or overbreadth. Vagueness challenges are based on the premise that, to be enforceable, the regulation must give those persons who are bound by it a reasonable indication of exactly what conduct is prohibited. In essence, the standard must be capable of objective interpretation by those officers who must abide by it. A rule can be found unconstitutionally overbroad if it prohibits some conduct that is improper while also covering some that is not.<\/p>\n<p><big><b>Proper Use of the Charge<\/b><\/big><\/p>\n<p>In the U.S. military, in determining whether conduct is unbecoming an officer, it is unnecessary that such conduct amount to a separate offense. This section concerning conduct unbecoming an officer, as one military panel explained, is reserved for serious misconduct of officers and should not be demeaned by using it to charge minor delinquencies, such as failure to obey an order to report or tardiness for a formation.<sup>2<\/sup> To withstand a challenge, the conduct \u201cmust offend so seriously against law, justice, morality, or decorum as to expose to disgrace, socially, or as a man, the offender, and at same time must be of such a nature or committed under such circumstances as to bring dishonor or disrepute upon the military profession which he represents.\u201d<sup>3<\/sup><\/p>\n<p>In military cases, it is possible that an officer\u2019s misconduct may form the basis for a charge of conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman, even though it is specifically punishable under another article. In such a case, the government must prove any elements required for the underlying offense and also demonstrate that the act or omission constitutes conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman.<sup>4<\/sup> For example, in a 1978 case, merely alleging that the accused, a military police officer, engaged in conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman by being in possession of and using marijuana in presence of enlisted men was insufficient to constitute violations of this section in the absence of allegations of \u201cwrongful\u201d or \u201cunlawful\u201d use and possession.<sup>5<\/sup> (Chiefs in states with \u201cmedical marijuana\u201d laws should be sure to have a clear rule banning its use by officers on and off duty.)<\/p>\n<p>The underlying substantive violation and conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman are separate offenses, and criminal prosecution and conviction of both offenses do not subject an accused to double jeopardy.<sup>6<\/sup> For example, in <i>U.S. v. Harwood<\/i>, charges of both fraternization and conduct unbecoming an officer that cited the same misconduct involving fraternization with the same airman, violated the double jeopardy clause.<sup>7<\/sup> Where the elements of two charges are identical, even though not criminal in nature, chiefs should take care not to impose discipline for both. This might happen, for example, when an officer is charged with both conduct unbecoming an officer and violation of a rule such as insubordination. In a limited number of instances, however, charging an officer for both conduct unbecoming and committing a criminal offense might be prudent. An officer might be found not guilty in the criminal case where proof beyond a reasonable doubt is the standard or where dismissal might result from a \u201ctechnicality,\u201d but the department could still proceed with charges by showing by a preponderance of the evidence that the officer\u2019s conduct constituted conduct unbecoming. In fact, in the military, when the underlying conduct required for conviction for engaging in conduct unbecoming an officer is a crime defined by a specific punitive article, the specific crime is treated as a lesser included offense of conduct unbecoming an officer.<sup>8<\/sup><\/p>\n<p><b>Recommendation:<\/b> Where a rule covers a police officer\u2019s misconduct, that regulation should be cited as the charge in any disciplinary notice unless the conduct is public in nature or disrupts department morale or operations. Chiefs should avoid automatically charging an officer with conduct unbecoming an officer for offenses otherwise covered by rules prohibiting the behavior, such as insubordination, engaging in actions amounting to a conflict of interest, harassment, or drinking on the job, unless the department can show that the act or omission independently constitutes conduct unbecoming a police officer. While it may be allowable to charge an officer with both offenses, it is not permissible to impose punishment for both. On the other hand, where no specific rule is violated, but an officer\u2019s actions bring the department into disrepute with the public or clearly disrupt the operation or esprit de corps that is essential for the orderly functioning of the department, a charge of conduct unbecoming may be the appropriate charge.<\/p>\n<p>The following are but a few examples of misconduct in the military that might provide lessons for police chiefs in bringing disciplinary charges.<\/p>\n<p><big><i>Adultery<\/i><\/big><\/p>\n<p>A military tribunal in 1991 noted that it would not find that violation of a rule simply stating that sexual intercourse by a married soldier with a person that was not his or her spouse constituted the offense of adultery under an article proscribing conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline in the armed forces or of nature to bring discredit on the armed forces.<sup>9<\/sup> A 1993 court-martial panel noted that the custom against fraternization in the U.S. Air Force had been so eroded as to limit criminal prosecution against an officer for engaging in mutually voluntary, private, non-deviant sexual intercourse with an enlisted member, neither under his command nor supervision, to the state of customs reflected in the record in that case, but would not preclude every prosecution for fraternization based on such conduct.<sup>10<\/sup> The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review another 1993 case finding that adultery alleged as conduct unbecoming an officer is a valid offense; however, time may have eroded this principle.<sup>11<\/sup> Both military and police authorities are less likely these days to bring charges of adultery where the offense does not involve co-workers or has not resulted in public notoriety. Regardless, before any charges are brought, proof should be more than circumstantial. For example, allegations of \u201cundue familiarity\u201d and \u201cexcessive social contacts\u201d with a married female service member are insufficient to allege unbecoming conduct.<sup>12<\/sup> In a 1978 case, private sexual intercourse between a military officer and his or her superior, unaccompanied by any element of harassment or coercion on the part of the superior and any allegation of violation of an applicable custom or regulation, was found not to be unbecoming conduct, absent evidence of custom of the service or a regulation prohibiting such conduct.<sup>13<\/sup> However, carrying on in an open, notorious, and public manner with an enlisted woman who was not his wife was conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.<sup>14<\/sup> In yet another 1993 case where it became a more public issue, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a finding that a specification alleging that while living with his lawful wife, the accused wrongfully and dishonorably had an affair with another woman during which time he entered into lease agreement and paid monthly rent on the other woman\u2019s behalf, resided with the other woman, escorted her to public places of entertainment, and kept clothing at her house constituted an offense of conduct unbecoming an officer.<sup>15<\/sup><\/p>\n<p>While simple \u201canti-fraternization\u201d cases may be a thing of the past, where the sexual relationship involves members of the same military unit, it may constitute conduct unbecoming, especially if it becomes public or involved the use of the superior officer\u2019s position to take advantage of a subordinate.<sup>16<\/sup> For instance, in a 1986 U.S. Air Force case, the sexual exploitation of a civilian waitress, whom the accused was charged with supervising, was considered conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, particularly since the accused\u2019s relationship with the waitress was well known.<sup>17<\/sup> A captain could be convicted of conduct unbecoming an officer by attempting to utilize military subordinates in his unit to procure a date for him with another subordinate in the unit.<sup>18<\/sup><\/p>\n<p>In another case, making sexual comments to the victim of a crime who was an enlisted woman in attempt to establish a personal and unprofessional relationship with the victim, where that victim lost respect for the accused as a military officer as a result, was legally sufficient to support a conviction for conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.<sup>19<\/sup><\/p>\n<p><big><i>Drunkenness<\/i><\/big><\/p>\n<p>Even assuming that a more aggravated form of drunkenness was required to support a conviction for conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, such as being drunk in a public place while in uniform, the military panel found that the evidence was sufficient to support a conviction on two specifications, where, in each instance, the accused\u2019s public drunkenness was accompanied by notorious ancillary misconduct, which reasonably could not, and as a factual matter, did not escape the attention of civilian law enforcement authorities and other motorists and passersby.<sup>20<\/sup><\/p>\n<p><big><i>Lying<\/i><\/big><\/p>\n<p>While being untruthful during an investigation or even during a court martial could be grounds for discipline, when it involves a third party outside the military, it could also amount to conduct unbecoming. For example, in <i>U.S. v. Weldon<\/i>, an officer\u2019s altering of a \u201cRequest for Personal Data Sheet\u201d in an attempt to show a landlord that he had been transferred so that he could terminate his lease without forfeiting a security deposit convicted the officer for conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman.<sup>21<\/sup><\/p>\n<p><big><i>Child Pornography<\/i><\/big><\/p>\n<p>Regardless of whether the same conduct of possessing child pornography violated a federal statute, punishment for conduct unbecoming is possible.<sup>22<\/sup> This is the case even though such conduct may be constitutionally protected free speech in the civilian population.<sup>23<\/sup> Mailing a letter containing sexually suggestive comments to a middle school student in response to her letter written to show public support for Operation Desert Storm was determined to be conduct unbecoming in <i>U.S. v. Hartwig<\/i> (1992).<sup>24<\/sup> Similarly, in what may be a latter appeal on other grounds, the panel ruled that the private nature of the accused\u2019s letter to a schoolgirl neither clothed it with First Amendment protection nor excluded it from the rule prohibiting conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman.<sup>25<\/sup><\/p>\n<p><big><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/big><\/p>\n<p>Police chiefs should be sure, before attempting to discipline an officer for conduct unbecoming, that their department\u2019s rules and regulations not only include the charge, but also spell out in detail that the offense involves bringing the department into public disrepute or disrupts the department\u2019s esprit de corps or operations. Proof of training and other actions that made clear to all department members what was meant by the term will go a long way to helping the rule and related disciplinary actions withstand constitutional challenges. ♦<\/p>\n<p><b>Notes:<\/b><br \/>\n<sup>1<\/sup><i>Parker v. Levy<\/i>, 417 U.S. 733, 94 S. Ct. 2547, 41 L.Ed.2d 439 (1974).<br \/>\n<sup>2<\/sup><i>U.S. v. Clark<\/i>, 15 M.J. 594 (ACMR 1983).<br \/>\n<sup>3<\/sup><i>U.S. v. Jefferson<\/i>, 14 M.J. 806 (ACMR 1982), affirmed in part, reversed in part 21 M.J. 203 (CMA 1986).<br \/>\n<sup>4<\/sup><i>U.S. v. Parrillo<\/i>, 31 M.J. 886 (AFCMR 1990), review granted in part, 33 M.J. 161 (AFCMR 1990), affirmed<br \/>\n34 M.J. 112 (CMA 1992).<br \/>\n<sup>5<\/sup><i>U.S. v. DeStefano<\/i>, 5 M.J. 824 (ACMR 1978), reversed on other grounds 8 M.J. 219.<br \/>\n<sup>6<\/sup><i>U.S. v. Sheehan<\/i>, 15 M.J. 724 (ACMR 1983).<br \/>\n<sup>7<\/sup><i>U.S. v. Harwood<\/i>, 46 M.J. 26 (CAAF 1997).<br \/>\n<sup>8<\/sup><i>U.S. v. Olson<\/i>, 38 M.J. 597 (AFCMR 1993), review denied 39 M.J. 389.<br \/>\n<sup>9<\/sup><i>U.S. v. Perez<\/i>, 33 M.J. 1050 (ACMR 1991).<br \/>\n<sup>10<\/sup><i>U.S. v. Boyett<\/i>, 37 M.J. 872 (AFCMR 1993), review granted in part 39 M.J. 378, affirmed 42 M.J. 150, certiorari denied 516 U.S. 917, 116 S. Ct. 308, 133 L.Ed.2d 212 (1995).<br \/>\n<sup>11<\/sup><i>U.S. v. Schneider<\/i>, 38 M.J. 387 (CMA 1993), certiorari denied 511 U.S. 1106, 114 S. Ct. 2100, 128 L.Ed.2d 662 (1994), habeas corpus dismissed 998 F. Supp. 1210 (D. Kan. 1998), affirmed 173 F.3d 864 (10th Cir. 1999).<br \/>\n<sup>12<\/sup><i>U.S. v. Kroop<\/i>, 38 M.J. 470 (CMA 1993).<br \/>\n<sup>13<\/sup><i>Id.<\/i><br \/>\n<sup>14<\/sup><i>U.S. v. Cisler<\/i>, 33 M.J. 503 (AFCMR 1991).<br \/>\n<sup>15<\/sup><i>U.S. v. Czekala<\/i>, 38 M.J. 566 (ACMR 1993), reconsideration denied, review granted in part 40 M.J. 310 (1994), affirmed 42 M.J. 168 (1995), certiorari denied 516 U.S. 954, 116 S. Ct. 403, 133 L.Ed.2d 322 (1995).<br \/>\n<sup>16<\/sup><i>U.S. v. Tedder<\/i>, 24 M.J. 176 (CMA 1987,). See also, <i>U.S. v. Parrillo<\/i>, 31 M.J. 886 (AFCMR 1990), review granted in part, 33 M.J. 161, affirmed 34 M.J. 112 (CMA 1992).<br \/>\n<sup>17<\/sup><i>U.S. v. Shober<\/i>, 26 M.J. 501 (AFCMR 1986).<br \/>\n<sup>18<\/sup><i>U.S. v. Tedder<\/i>, CMA 1987, 24 M.J. 176.<br \/>\n<sup>19<\/sup><i>U.S. v. Lofton<\/i>, 69 M.J. 386 (CAAF 2011), habeas corpus denied 2013 WL 3971423, writ denied 73 M.J. 240 (CAAF 2014).<br \/>\n<sup>20<\/sup><i>U.S. v. Schumacher<\/i>, 11 M.J. 612 (ACMR 1981).<br \/>\n<sup>21<\/sup><i>U.S. v. Weldon<\/i>, 7 M.J. 938 (NCMR 1979).<br \/>\n<sup>22<\/sup><i>U.S. v. Amazaki<\/i>, 67 M.J. 666, (Army Ct. Crim. App. 2009), review denied 68 M.J. 225 (CAAF 2009).<br \/>\n<sup>23<\/sup><i>U.S. v. Forney<\/i>, 67 M.J. 271 (CAAF 2009).<br \/>\n<sup>24<\/sup><i>U.S. v. Hartwig<\/i>, 35 M.J. 682 (ACMR 1992), review granted in part 38 M.J. 176 (CMA 1993), affirmed 39 M.J. 125 (CMA 1994).<br \/>\n<sup>25<\/sup><i>U.S. v. Hartwig<\/i>, 39 M.J. 125 (CMA 1994).<\/p>\n<p>Please cite as:<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: .5in;\">John M. (Jack) Collins, \u201cConduct Unbecoming: Lessons from the Military,\u201d Chief\u2019s Counsel, <i>The Police Chief<\/i> 83 (January 2016): 16\u201317.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"pullout pullout--wide alignleft\">IACP members can access the Investigation of Employee Misconduct Model Policy, along with an accompanying Concepts and Issues paper by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myiacp.org\/NC__Login?startURL=%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">logging into IACP\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/aside>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For decades, police departments have been using the charge of \u201cconduct unbecoming\u201d when disciplining officers. Although a divided U.S. Supreme Court upheld the charge of conduct unbecoming an officer in the 1974 U.S. Army court-martial (criminal) case of <em>Parker v. Levy<\/em>, it noted that such a charge would not be valid in civilian situations. Although most state courts and lower federal courts have upheld the validity of this disciplinary rule in the face of constitutional challenges, generally characterizing police agencies as \u201cpara-military\u201d in nature, police chiefs should be cautious lest they invite a Supreme Court review that might result in a decision barring its use altogether for police officers or other municipal employees. There are several steps chiefs can take to limit the likelihood of such challenges, some of which come from a review of how the military has used the charge since the <i>Levy<\/i> decision.<\/p>\n<p>Even though courts might be more lenient in reviewing the constitutionality of charges brought in disciplinary cases than in criminal ones, simply naming \u201cconduct unbecoming\u201d in a list of possible disciplinary offenses, without any detail of what it means, invites a challenge. In order to discipline a police officer, a department needs to demonstrate that the individual was aware that his or her conduct was prohibited and could result in discipline. This is best accomplished by having a comprehensive set of rules and regulations. Most such rules are self-explanatory. However, a charge of conduct unbecoming, without an explanation of its elements, and lacking proof that the officer was trained in its scope and implications or given a warning that a certain type of conduct was not allowed, is susceptible to constitutional challenges as being void for vagueness or overbreadth. Vagueness challenges are based on the premise that, to be enforceable, the regulation must give those persons who are bound by it a reasonable indication of exactly what conduct is prohibited. In essence, the standard must be capable of objective interpretation by those officers who must abide by it. A rule can be found unconstitutionally overbroad if it prohibits some conduct that is improper while also covering some that is not.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[159,152],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chiefs-counsel","category-columns"],"acf":{"post_author":"John M. (Jack) Collins, Attorney, Legal Advisor, Edgartown, Massachusetts, Police Department","legacy_article_id":"3992","legacy_issue_id":"12016","main_category":"Chief's Counsel"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.4 (Yoast SEO v24.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Chief's Counsel: Conduct Unbecoming: Lessons from the Military - Police Chief Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/conduct-unbecoming-lessons-from-the-military\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chief's Counsel: Conduct Unbecoming: Lessons from the Military\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For decades, police departments have been using the charge of \u201cconduct unbecoming\u201d when disciplining officers. Although a divided U.S. Supreme Court upheld the charge of conduct unbecoming an officer in the 1974 U.S. Army court-martial (criminal) case of Parker v. Levy, it noted that such a charge would not be valid in civilian situations. Although most state courts and lower federal courts have upheld the validity of this disciplinary rule in the face of constitutional challenges, generally characterizing police agencies as \u201cpara-military\u201d in nature, police chiefs should be cautious lest they invite a Supreme Court review that might result in a decision barring its use altogether for police officers or other municipal employees. There are several steps chiefs can take to limit the likelihood of such challenges, some of which come from a review of how the military has used the charge since the Levy decision. Even though courts might be more lenient in reviewing the constitutionality of charges brought in disciplinary cases than in criminal ones, simply naming \u201cconduct unbecoming\u201d in a list of possible disciplinary offenses, without any detail of what it means, invites a challenge. In order to discipline a police officer, a department needs to demonstrate that the individual was aware that his or her conduct was prohibited and could result in discipline. This is best accomplished by having a comprehensive set of rules and regulations. Most such rules are self-explanatory. However, a charge of conduct unbecoming, without an explanation of its elements, and lacking proof that the officer was trained in its scope and implications or given a warning that a certain type of conduct was not allowed, is susceptible to constitutional challenges as being void for vagueness or overbreadth. Vagueness challenges are based on the premise that, to be enforceable, the regulation must give those persons who are bound by it a reasonable indication of exactly what conduct is prohibited. In essence, the standard must be capable of objective interpretation by those officers who must abide by it. A rule can be found unconstitutionally overbroad if it prohibits some conduct that is improper while also covering some that is not.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/conduct-unbecoming-lessons-from-the-military\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Police Chief Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheIACP\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-01-01T17:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-08T17:32:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Legal.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"990\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"266\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"matrixsuperadmin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@TheIACP\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@TheIACP\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"matrixsuperadmin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"12 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/conduct-unbecoming-lessons-from-the-military\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/conduct-unbecoming-lessons-from-the-military\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"matrixsuperadmin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/#\/schema\/person\/845991022f6502e521826e97f251a3f0\"},\"headline\":\"Chief’s Counsel: Conduct Unbecoming: Lessons from the Military\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-01-01T17:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-08T17:32:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/conduct-unbecoming-lessons-from-the-military\/\"},\"wordCount\":2382,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/conduct-unbecoming-lessons-from-the-military\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Legal.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Chief's Counsel\",\"Columns\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/conduct-unbecoming-lessons-from-the-military\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/conduct-unbecoming-lessons-from-the-military\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/conduct-unbecoming-lessons-from-the-military\/\",\"name\":\"Chief's Counsel: Conduct Unbecoming: Lessons from the Military - 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Police Chief Magazine","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/conduct-unbecoming-lessons-from-the-military\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Chief's Counsel: Conduct Unbecoming: Lessons from the Military","og_description":"For decades, police departments have been using the charge of \u201cconduct unbecoming\u201d when disciplining officers. Although a divided U.S. Supreme Court upheld the charge of conduct unbecoming an officer in the 1974 U.S. Army court-martial (criminal) case of Parker v. Levy, it noted that such a charge would not be valid in civilian situations. Although most state courts and lower federal courts have upheld the validity of this disciplinary rule in the face of constitutional challenges, generally characterizing police agencies as \u201cpara-military\u201d in nature, police chiefs should be cautious lest they invite a Supreme Court review that might result in a decision barring its use altogether for police officers or other municipal employees. There are several steps chiefs can take to limit the likelihood of such challenges, some of which come from a review of how the military has used the charge since the Levy decision. Even though courts might be more lenient in reviewing the constitutionality of charges brought in disciplinary cases than in criminal ones, simply naming \u201cconduct unbecoming\u201d in a list of possible disciplinary offenses, without any detail of what it means, invites a challenge. In order to discipline a police officer, a department needs to demonstrate that the individual was aware that his or her conduct was prohibited and could result in discipline. This is best accomplished by having a comprehensive set of rules and regulations. Most such rules are self-explanatory. However, a charge of conduct unbecoming, without an explanation of its elements, and lacking proof that the officer was trained in its scope and implications or given a warning that a certain type of conduct was not allowed, is susceptible to constitutional challenges as being void for vagueness or overbreadth. Vagueness challenges are based on the premise that, to be enforceable, the regulation must give those persons who are bound by it a reasonable indication of exactly what conduct is prohibited. In essence, the standard must be capable of objective interpretation by those officers who must abide by it. 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