Eagles, Post Commanding Officer, v. United States ex rel. Samuels (329 U.S. 304)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided December 23, 1946 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 329 U.S. 304 · 67 S. Ct. 313
- Decided
- December 23, 1946
- Term
- October Term 1946
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Douglas
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Mr. Justice Douglas delivered the opinion of the Court. Samuels registered under the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, as amended, and thereafter claimed exemption from military service under § 5 (d) of the Act. That exemption includes not only regular or duly ordained ministers of religion but also “students who are preparing for the ministry in theological or divinity schools recognized as such for more than one year prior” to the Act. He was classified I-A and inducted into the Army. Thereafter he filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the District Court, seeking release from military custody on the ground that he was entitled to an exemption under § 5 (d) of the Act and that his classification as I-A was unlawful. There was a return and a hearing, and the District Court ordered the writ dismissed. On appeal the Circuit Court of Appeals, in reliance on United States v. Cain, 149 F. 2d 338, reversed and remanded the cause to the District Court with directions to “discharge” Samuels “from military custody, without prejudice to further lawful proceedings under the Selective Service Act.” 151 F. 2d 801, 802. The case is here on a petition for a writ of certiorari which we granted in order to resolve the conflict between the decision below and United States v. Hearn, 153 F. 2d 186, in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. First. A question of mootness lies at…
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