Boswell v. United States
| Decision Date | 15 February 1968 |
| Docket Number | No. 21878.,21878. |
| Citation | 390 F.2d 181 |
| Parties | Bruce Eugene BOSWELL, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit |
J. B. Tietz (argued), Michael Hannon, Los Angeles, Cal., for appellant.
William P. Lamb (argued), Asst. U. S. Atty., William Matthew Burne, Jr., U. S. Atty., Robert L. Brosio, Asst. U. S. Atty., Los Angeles, Cal., for appellee.
Before BARNES and MERRILL, Circuit Judges, and BELLONI, District Judge.
Appellant was convicted of having refused to be inducted into the armed forces, in violation of 50 U.S.C. App. § 462(a). District court jurisdiction was founded on 18 U.S.C. § 3231 (1964), and our review is sought pursuant to 28 U.S. C. §§ 1291, 1294 (1964).
The record shows Boswell had been registered with the local board of the Selective Service System (Board) since 1961, had completed several questionnaires, taken a physical, received a student deferment, and been classified 1-A, all without ever claiming to be a conscientious objector or appealing his classification.
Boswell was ordered to report for induction on February 23, 1966; the date was postponed to March 16, 1966. The day before the scheduled induction, Boswell submitted this statement to his Board:
Boswell appeared on March 16, 1966, was allocated to the United States Marine Corps, but refused to submit to induction. He contends that he appeared at the Board office the day before his induction was scheduled (at the time the letter quoted above was submitted), and requested a Form 150 (special form for conscientious objectors), which the clerk of the Board refused to give him. Appellant contends that this refusal denied him the opportunity to submit a claim for a conscientious objector classification, resulting in a denial of due process. This contention was first raised at the district court trial, when Boswell testified to that effect. The government, claiming surprise, did not have employees available to testify, and relied upon the presumption that official duty was regularly performed. The district court, hearing the case without a jury, found Boswell guilty.
Because a waiver of findings of fact had been filed by both parties, the district court made none. The court could have based its judgment either on a disbelief that Boswell was denied the opportunity to file (in which case the conviction should stand), or it could have based its judgment on the erroneous view of the law urged by the government that the denial, if true, was harmless1 (in which case the conviction was erroneous).
If a legally sufficient conscientious objector form had been filed after induction notice but before induction, the Board should have considered the form...
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United States v. Bowen
...prior to the scheduled date of induction, has been held to vitiate a conviction for failure to report for induction. Boswell v. United States, 390 F.2d 181 (9th Cir. 1968) (the request for the form was made following the notice of induction, on the day before the induction was scheduled); U......
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United States v. Machado
...400 F.2d 599 (9th Cir. 1968) (failure to be ordered for alternative service by a meeting of the local board); Boswell v. United States, 390 F.2d 181 (9th Cir. 1968) (failure to issue a form The second point argued is that the regulation's phrase "if at all practicable" shows the flexibility......
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United States v. Williams, Crim. No. 23579.
...a conviction for failure to report for and submit to induction, the motion for judgment of acquittal is granted. See Boswell v. United States, 390 F.2d 181 (9th Cir. 1968); United States v. Stafford, 389 F.2d 215 (2nd Cir. The above constitutes our conclusions of law. 1 This regulation was ......
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United States v. Burns, Crim. A. No. 68-CR-127.
...the Ninth Circuit has held that an arbitrary refusal to provide a Form 150 on request is a denial of due process. Boswell v. United States, 390 F.2d 181, 183 (9th Cir. 1968), and Boyd v. United States, 269 F.2d 607 (9th Cir. We do not consider the conversation which defendant claims he had ......