Court Opinion

ID: 9455131
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 19:11:58.472296+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:34:28.146018
License: Public Domain

McLAUGHLIN, Circuit Judge
(dissenting).
Admittedly, the majority opinion is wholly based on its proposition that an undergraduate student deferment is no different than a statutory exemption as a divinity student. While that theory has not been directly before the Supreme Court, the latter in Oestereich carefully confined its holding, as it states time after time, to the statutory exemption granted divinity students. There is not one word in the opinion to in any way justify the pronouncement that the ordinary student deferment, which is everything we have here, is at all similar to the conceded statutory exemption as a student of the ministry.
The very day the Oestereich opinion was filed, the same Supreme Court, with its decision in Oestereich specifically in mind, announced its Clark v. Gabriel opinion, 393 U.S. 256, 89 S.Ct. 424, 21 L.Ed.2d 418 (1968). The Court said p. 258, 89 S.Ct. p. 426, “Oestereich, as a divinity student, was by statute unconditionally entitled to exemption” but un-qualifiedly upheld Section 10(b) (3) of the Military Selective Service Act in precluding pre-induction review where the local board had statutory authority to exercise its judgment re a claim of conscientious objection. Clark unmistakably indicates that the local board’s action in the instant appeals was sound and right under Section 10(b) (3).
Breen v. Selective Service Local Board, etc., 406 F.2d 636 (2 Cir. 1969) concerned substantially our problem. There, as before us, the registrant relied on § 6(h) (1) of the Act which reads:
“Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, the President shall, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, provide for the deferment from training and service in the Armed Forces of persons satisfactorily pursuing a full-time course of instruc*766tion at a college, university, or similar institution of learning and who request such deferment. (Emphasis supplied.)”
In Breen, Judge Friendly in his opinion pointed out in detail that the Oestereich conflict between statute and regulations was not present. He noted that Section 10(b) (3) was likely precipitated by Wolff v. Selective Service Local Board, etc., 372 F.2d 817 (2 Cir. 1967) and said p. 639 of 406 F.2d:
“If Congress meant to withhold the preinduction review we had granted in Wolff to students enjoying deferments who had been declared delinquent for acts not within the regulations, it surely must have intended to do this where, as here, there has been an undisputed violation of 32 C.F.R. § 1617.1 requiring continued possession of a certificate — a requirement which the Supreme Court has characterized as serving ‘a legitimate and substantial purpose in the system’s administration.’ United States v. O’Brien, 391 U.S. 367, 378, 88 S.Ct. 1673, 1679, 20 L.Ed.2d 672 (1968).”
Anderson v. Hershey et al., 410 F.2d 492 (6 Cir. April 11, 1969) is another key opinion on our precise question. The Court after exhaustive coverage .of the problem held “Finally, as we have earlier indicated, the delinquency provisions are directed toward insuring the satisfaction of the legitimate needs of the ¡Selective Service System. We cannot say that the delinquency reclassification and induction are excessive.” In United States v. Gutknecht, 406 F.2d 494 (8 Cir. January 20, 1969) the delinquency order was based on registrant’s violation of the regulation that he keep the required cards in his possession at all times. In affirming the judgment of the District Court that the local board had properly found registrant delinquent, the clear differentiation from Oestereich was again stressed. United States v. Troutman, 412 F.2d 810 (8 Cir. 1969) in affirming an excellent opinion by Chief Judge Harper in the District Court, held that the local board did not abuse its discretion by not removing registrant from delinquency status and by inducting him. The sole decision cited by the majority opinion as supporting its view is National Student Assn. v. Hershey, 412 F.2d 1103 (D.C. Cir. 1969). A careful reading of that opinion convincingly shows that it is no help whatsoever to the appellants.
These appellants were treated lawfully under the valid Selective Service law, in strict accordance with the expressed views to date of the United States Supreme Court on the particular issue. The judgment of the District Court should be affirmed.