## Facts

- Steven D. Green enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2005 and deployed to Iraq as an infantryman with the 101st Airborne Division near Mahmoudiyah.
- While deployed, Green and other soldiers participated in the sexual assault of a teenage Iraqi girl and the murder of her and members of her family.
- Before senior military officials learned of Green’s involvement, the Army processed him for discharge based on a personality disorder.
- Green completed transition processing at Fort Campbell, received final pay, and was issued a certificate of release or discharge from active duty.
- Because Green had been discharged, the Army lacked authority to prosecute him by court-martial, while his co-conspirators (still on active duty) were tried by courts-martial.
- Federal prosecutors charged Green in federal district court under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA), 18 U.S.C. § 3261(a), which extends federal jurisdiction to certain crimes committed abroad by servicemembers who later cease to be subject to the UCMJ.
- A federal jury convicted Green of multiple offenses including murder and sexual assault, and the district court imposed five consecutive life sentences.

## Issues

1. Whether Green was validly discharged such that he had “ceased to be subject” to the Uniform Code of Military Justice and therefore fell within MEJA’s coverage.
2. Whether MEJA, as applied, violates separation of powers or the nondelegation doctrine by allowing the Executive to determine the statute’s reach.
3. Whether MEJA violates equal protection by drawing irrational classifications regarding who may be prosecuted in federal court.
4. Whether MEJA violates due process by failing to provide fair notice that a discharged servicemember could face federal prosecution for overseas conduct committed while in the military.

## Decision

- The Sixth Circuit affirmed Green’s convictions and five consecutive life sentences.
- The court held Green’s discharge was legally effective; alleged failures to follow additional administrative or ceremonial steps did not negate that he ceased to be subject to military jurisdiction.
- The court held MEJA is constitutional as applied to Green and rejected his separation-of-powers, nondelegation, equal protection, and due process challenges.

## Legal Principles

- MEJA authorizes federal prosecution for certain offenses committed abroad by a person who was a servicemember at the time of the offense and who later ceases to be subject to the UCMJ.
- For MEJA jurisdiction, the statutory question is whether the defendant in fact ceased to be subject to military jurisdiction; imperfect compliance with internal military procedures does not necessarily invalidate an otherwise effective discharge.
- MEJA does not violate the nondelegation doctrine where Congress defines the covered class and offenses and supplies an intelligible principle for enforcement.
- MEJA’s classifications are reviewed under rational basis where no suspect class or fundamental right is implicated; Congress may rationally address a jurisdictional gap created when servicemembers leave military status before UCMJ prosecution.
- Due process fair-notice challenges are weakened where the statute is enacted and codified and the charged conduct is plainly criminal.

## Conclusion

The Sixth Circuit held that Green’s discharge ended military jurisdiction, bringing him within MEJA, and it sustained MEJA against separation-of-powers, nondelegation, equal protection, and due process challenges, leaving intact Green’s federal convictions and five consecutive life terms for crimes committed in Iraq while he was a soldier.


United States v. Green, 654 F.3d 637 (6th Cir. 2011)