U.S. v. Morris, 30 M.J. 1221 (ACMR 1990)

This is a United States Army Court of Military Review decision affirming the conviction by general court-martial of consensual sodomy and wanton disregard for human life of an HIV-positive officer for engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse with an HIV-negative woman. The officer was sentenced to a bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of $400 pay per month for three months, and restriction to the limits of his military base for two months; he was also prohibited from having unprotected sex with anyone until after he left his base.

The officer had previously disclosed his HIV status to his partner, who testified that she knew he was HIV positive and knew the possible consequences of unprotected sex with him, but nevertheless requested that he not wear a condom on several occasions. The court held that this consent was not a valid defense to the officer's charges, citing "societal interests" in encouraging avoidance of "reckless behavior" and society's interest in stopping a deadly disease.

The officer argued that his conviction constituted a due process violation since he could not have reasonably known that his conduct was unlawful. The court dismissed this argument, holding that he was, in fact, on notice since he had received counseling on several occasions about his diagnosis, including on the ways in which HIV may be transmitted and on the risks of unprotected sex with an HIV-negative person.

The court also ruled that the officer's medical records indicating his HIV status were properly admitted into evidence. The court acknowledged the Department of the Army and Department of Defense policies granting limited immunity of various blood test results, but stated that this immunity applied to possible past criminal misconduct and not to circumstances in which the results directly relate to future misconduct. The officer's disciplinary action was not based on his HIV, but on the unlawful conduct alleged to have occurred after he was diagnosed and when he knew of his HIV infection.