Witmer v. United States (348 U.S. 375)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided March 14, 1955 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 348 U.S. 375 · 75 S. Ct. 392
- Decided
- March 14, 1955
- Term
- October Term 1954
- Vote
- 6–2
- Majority author
- Justice Clark
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Mr. Justice Clark delivered the opinion of the Court. Petitioner, a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, stands convicted of failing to submit to induction into the armed forces in violation of § 12 (a) of the Universal Military-Training and Service Act, 62 Stat. 622, 50 U. S. C. App. § 462 (a). On trial, he centered his defense on the contention that he was wrongfully denied exemption as a conscientious objector. This Term, we have been asked to review a relatively large number of criminal prosecutions involving various procedural and substantive problems encountered in effectuating the congressional policy of exempting conscientious objectors from military service. We have granted petitions for certiorari in this and the three following cases to consider certain of the problems recurring in these prosecutions. Section 6 (j) of the Universal Military Training and Service Act, 62 Stat. 612, as amended, 50 U. S. C. App. § 456 (j), provides that no person who, “by reason-of religious training and belief, is conscientiously opposed to participation in war in any form,” shall be required to undergo combatant training or service in the armed forces. The conscientious objector, to prove his claim, fills out a questionnaire in which he makes a short statement of his religious beliefs and cites evidence, such as prior public expression of his views, to demonstrate his sincerity. If, on…
Excerpt of a 16,353-character opinion. The full text and citation network load in the interactive viewer above.