St. Clair v. Secretary of Navy, 97-3993

• Decision Date: 17 August 1998
• Docket Number: No. 97-3993,97-3993
• Citation: 155 F.3d 848
• Parties: Michael L. ST. CLAIR, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. SECRETARY OF NAVY, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

Page 848

155 F.3d 848

Michael L. ST. CLAIR, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. SECRETARY OF NAVY, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 97-3993.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Argued May 18, 1998.

Decided Aug. 17, 1998.

B. Douglas Stephens (argued), Wessels, Stojan & Stephens, Rock Island, IL, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Andrew B. Baker, Jr., Office of the United States Attorney, Dryer, IN, Geoffrey M. Coan (argued), Office of the Judge Advocate General, Alexandria, VA, for Defendant-Appellee.

Before CUMMINGS, ROVNER and EVANS, Circuit Judges.

TERENCE T. EVANS, Circuit Judge.

Michael St. Clair, a sailor, ran into trouble during the fall of 1991 when he was arrested, twice, for driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol over a span of several weeks. Because there seems to be no place for such a sailor in the nuclear submarine service of the United States Navy, the Navy gave St. Clair the heave ho with a general discharge rather than an honorable one. St. Clair has fought hard to get his discharge upgraded to honorable. Today we consider his appeal from a district court judgment that failed to go his way.

In 1991, St. Clair was serving as a machinist mate-engineering laboratory technician assigned to the nuclear submarine U.S.S. Archerfish stationed at the submarine base in New London, Connecticut. He was 27 years old. On September 29 ¹ civilian authorities in Mystic, Connecticut, arrested St. Clair for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol--an offense commonly referred to as OWI (operating while intoxicated) or DUI (driving under the influence). The naval counseling service recommended a mid-level course of treatment for alcohol addiction--a Naval Alcohol and Drug Safety Action Program ("NADSAP"). But before St. Clair received treatment, he landed in hot water again. Around midnight on October 29, while driving on the naval base, St. Clair ignored a stop sign and then accelerated away from the military police who signaled for him to pull over. After a brief pursuit St. Clair was arrested again. The military police contacted St. Clair's unit which, within an hour (according to St. Clair), sent a truck to pick him up. On the trip back to his unit, the frustrated St. Clair slammed his hand against the windshield, cracking the glass. St. Clair's conduct on October 29 led to charges of driving while intoxicated and destroying government property. The Navy again sent St. Clair to counseling. The counselor concluded that he was not psychologically dependent on alcohol, that he had the potential for useful service after receiving appropriate treatment, and that he was amenable to treatment. Along with again recommending a mid-level course of treatment, the counselor urged that St. Clair be held accountable for his actions.

Unfortunately for St. Clair, his commanding officer was not as sympathetic as the counselor. On November 8, 1991, the commander brought St. Clair before a nonjudicial proceeding known as a captain's mast on charges of drunk or reckless driving (Article 111 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice ("UCMJ"), see 10 U.S.C. § 911) and wrongful destruction of military property (Article 108 of the UCMJ, see 10 U.S.C. § 908). Not only did the commander punish St. Clair for the infractions, he initiated proceedings to administratively separate (i.e., discharge) St. Clair from the Navy. St. Clair requested a hearing before the Administrative Discharge Board ("ADB"). He presented evidence of his exemplary service--evaluations noting his high level of expertise and his commitment to the mission of his unit, and an efficiency report indicating outstanding performance in most categories and recommending promotion ahead of his peers. Nevertheless, on April 7, 1992, the ADB concluded that St. Clair had committed misconduct due to the commission of a serious offense. Consequently, the Board unanimously recommended a general, rather than honorable, discharge. (The Naval Military Personnel Manual § 3630600(1)(c) allows punitive discharges for offenses like those committed by St. Clair.) The commander of the submarine squadron agreed, as did the Office of the Chief of Naval Personnel. On July 6, 1992, St. Clair received a general discharge and left the Navy. To wrap up this part of St. Clair's story, we should note that in February of 1992 he attended the Navy's low-level alcohol treatment course. Afterwards, the Connecticut municipal authorities dismissed the OWI charge stemming from the September 1991 arrest.

St. Clair pursued his case by applying to the Naval Discharge Review Board ("NDRB") for recharacterization of his discharge from general to honorable. The NDRB refused to budge. St. Clair now argues that the NDRB's written decision misstated the facts of the case by suggesting that St. Clair completed the alcohol rehabilitation course before his second OWI arrest. Furthermore, St. Clair notes that the NDRB incorrectly stated that he damaged the truck's windshield 2 days after his second OWI arrest.

Hoping for vindication, St. Clair appealed the NDRB decision to federal court. St. Clair contended that the Navy improperly punished him without a court-martial, that the Navy should have rehabilitated him instead of discharging him, and that the squadron commander improperly represented that he had been convicted of reckless driving. Judge Michael Mihm heard the case and, on October 27, 1997, granted the government's motion for summary judgment. Judge Mihm reasoned that Article 15 of the UCMJ specifically allows commanding officers to impose nonjudicial punishments on servicemembers attached to a vessel. See 10 U.S.C. § 815(a). Thus, as a member of the U.S.S. Archerfish's crew, St. Clair was not entitled to a court-martial. The judge rejected St. Clair's argument about rehabilitation after considering the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations Instruction ("OPNAVINST") 5350.4B. This instruction recommends rehabilitation for those showing "exceptional potential for further useful service, and who reject further alcohol abuse." On the other hand, the instruction also suggests discharge for "repeat offenders and those who do not respond favorably to counseling, education or rehabilitation." Importantly, however, the instruction commits the ultimate decision to the discretion of the commanding officer. In analyzing the application of this instruction, Judge Mihm unfortunately also misstated the facts. He explained that St. Clair "committed his second alcohol-related offense less than six weeks" after completing a rehabilitation program. The judge reasoned that "[f]rom this conduct, it was not an abuse of discretion for the Navy to conclude that St. Clair was not amenable to treatment and would not reject further alcohol abuse." Finally, Judge Mihm rejected St. Clair's third argument because the squadron commander presented St. Clair's reckless driving as relevant conduct, not as a formal charge.

In this appeal, St. Clair renews his claims about the propriety of the captain's mast and his entitlement to rehabilitation. He also adds a new argument. He urges us to reverse because erroneous findings of fact infected the decisions of the district court and the NDRB. We will start by turning our attention to this new contention, beginning with first principles. We review the district court's grant of summary judgment de novo. This means, in effect, that we really just review the decision of the NDRB. ² Our jurisdiction over that decision arises under the Administrative Procedures Act. See 5 U.S.C. § 706(2). As such, we examine the administrative record to determine whether the NDRB made an arbitrary or capricious decision, abused its discretion, acted contrary to law or regulation, or lacked the support of substantial evidence. See, e.g., Chappell v. Wallace, 462 U.S. 296, 303, 103 S.Ct. 2362, 76 L.Ed.2d 586 (1983). Considering this deferential standard, St. Clair faces a high hurdle. As we explained in Bagdonas v. Department of Treasury, 93 F.3d 422 (7th Cir.1996), we will " 'uphold a decision of less than ideal clarity if the agency's path may reasonably be discerned.' " Id. at 426 (quoting Bowman Transp., Inc. v. Arkansas-Best Freight Sys., Inc., 419 U.S. 281, 286, 95 S.Ct. 438, 42 L.Ed.2d 447 (1974)). In Bagdonas we also reaffirmed our commitment to satisfying ourselves that the agency examined the evidence and articulated a reasonable explanation for its action. See id.

St. Clair does not allege that the NDRB heard less than all the relevant evidence. The Board considered St. Clair's service record, the outcome of the captain's mast, the proceedings of the ADB, and St. Clair's arguments in support of an honorable discharge. The NDRB's decision begins with a chronological summary of the important events in St. Clair's service. Crucially, this summary shows that St. Clair was twice arrested for OWI, after which the counseling service recommended mid-level treatment. The record also shows St. Clair's nonjudicial punishment for willful damage to government property and drunken driving based on the incidents in October of 1991.

Following the service record, the NDRB offered a written explanation for its decision. In this section the NDRB explained that it...