Military Court Criticizes Navy, Rules Tailhook Flier to Face Court-Martial

A Navy flier charged with indecent assault on a woman in the Tailhook scandal lost an attempt Tuesday to avoid court-martial, although military judges found the Navy “careless and amateurish” in the case it brought against him.

“The assembly-line technique in this case that merged and blurred investigative and justice procedures is troublesome,” said the Court of Military Appeals, the military’s highest tribunal.

The court ruled, however, that Lt. David Samples has failed to establish that he was given full immunity for his actions at the rowdy September, 1991, aviators convention in Las Vegas. Samples was granted a more limited “testimonial” immunity by Vice Adm. J. Paul Reason in a letter, which constituted a promise that he could not be prosecuted based on what he had told investigators.

Samples’ court-martial at the Norfolk, Va., naval base, the first stemming from the Tailhook Assn. convention, was stopped in October after the trial judge turned down the immunity claim.

The Navy charged that Samples took part in an incident at the convention when an intoxicated young woman was lifted into the air by three officers and stripped of her clothing below the waist.