Craycroft v. Ferrall
Citation | 408 F.2d 587 |
Decision Date | 05 March 1969 |
Docket Number | 22895.,No. 22582,22582 |
Parties | Peter CRAYCROFT, Appellant, v. William E. FERRALL, Commandant, Thirteenth Naval District, Robert Strange McNamara, as Secretary of Defense, and Robert H. V. Baldwin, as Acting Secretary of the Navy, or his Successor as Acting Secretary, or as Secretary of the Navy, Appellees. Peter CRAYCROFT, Appellant, v. Clark CLIFFORD, Secretary of Defense, Paul Robert Ignatius, Secretary of the Navy, and H. J. Trum, Commandant, Thirteenth Naval District, Appellees. |
Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (9th Circuit) |
John Caughlan (argued), Seattle, Wash., for appellant.
Michael J. Swofford (argued), Asst. U. S. Atty., Eugene G. Cushing, U. S. Atty., Michael Hoff, Asst. U. S. Atty., Seattle, Wash., for appellees.
Before CHAMBERS, HAMLIN and ELY, Circuit Judges.
Appellant Craycroft appeals from District Court dismissals of his two successive complaints challenging his detention in the United States Navy following the Navy's denials of his applications for discharge from the service as a conscientious objector. Craycroft sought habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241-2244. He also asked for a declaration under 28 U.S.C. § 2201 that he was a conscientious objector and sought mandatory relief to enjoin court-martial proceedings and to compel the Navy to comply with its own regulations which, allegedly, would require that he be discharged. The complaint also asserted jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 by charging that Craycroft had been denied due process of law in the Navy's consideration of his application. The District Court found that it lacked jurisdiction over the matter and dismissed Craycroft's first complaint on August 30, 1967. On May 3, 1968, the District Court dismissed Craycroft's second petition for habeas corpus relief in light of the similarity of issues to the first action which was pending our appellate decision. Craycroft brought his second appeal to us under 28 U.S.C. § 2253. We have consolidated the two appeals.
The District Court's initial dismissal of Craycroft's complaint was predicated on a finding that Craycroft had not exhausted the opportunities to present his complaints in an appropriate military judicial proceeding. We need not determine whether it was necessary, as the Government contends, for Craycroft to undergo a court-martial and exhaust all available appeals and military remedies therefrom, since it clearly appears that Craycroft has not exhausted all military administrative remedies that are presently available to him.1
On May 26, 1966, Craycroft enlisted in the Navy by taking an oath and signing a contract obliging himself to six years' service unless sooner discharged. On June 16, 1966, he voluntarily entered the Reserve Officer Corps program. He completed eight weeks' training at the Officer Candidate Training School, Newport, Rhode Island, and was assigned to the Naval Reserve Center, Eugene, Oregon. In November, 1966, Craycroft signed a statement of his understanding that he was scheduled to commence two years' active duty in December, 1967. In the District Court, he nevertheless alleged that he shortly thereafter, following the death of his father, became a conscientious objector. On February 17, 1967, he requested, by letter to the commanding officer of the Naval Reserve Center, Eugene, Oregon, Commander L. M. Madden, that he be permitted to resign from the officer program. He indicated that he had always been opposed to war and violence and had from the beginning entertained strong reservations about entering the Naval Reserve Officer program. On February 21st, Commander Madden interviewed Craycroft and then forwarded Craycroft's letter to higher authorities, together with recommendations that Craycroft's Reserve Officer Candidate status be withdrawn and that he be ordered to active duty or studied for possible conscientious objector status. Craycroft was disenrolled from the officer program on March 13, 1967, for failure to maintain the required standard of professional attitude and for failure to maintain satisfactory drill attendance.
The Navy returned to Craycroft application forms required by Bureau of Personnel Manual (BUPERSMAN) Art. C-5210 for consideration for conscientious objector discharge under Department of Defense Directive (DD) 1300.6 (Aug. 21, 1962). This Directive provided, in Part III, the following explanation:
Craycroft returned the submitted forms on April 5, 1967, and in them explained his beliefs and submitted other required information. For supplement to the application, BUPERSMAN Art. C-5210 (2) (b) added the following requirement:
Craycroft complains that no chaplain's statement was included in his first application and that the endorsement was supplied not by his commanding officer, but by Commander Madden, who allegedly was convinced that Craycroft insincerely presented his claimed beliefs. Commander Madden explained in the endorsement:
On April 11, 1967, Commander Madden forwarded Craycroft's request for discharge through the proper channels to the Chief of Naval Personnel, Washington, D. C. It was provided in DD 1300.6, III(E) (Aug. 21, 1962), that claims of conscientious objection should be judged by the same standards used by the Selective Service, and, accordingly, Craycroft's application was referred, under the procedure outlined in BUPERSMAN Art. C-5210(2) (c), to the Director of the Selective Service System, General Hershey, for an advisory opinion on the validity of the conscientious objector claim. On June 1, 1967, General Hershey issued his advisory opinion that if Craycroft were being considered for induction at that time he would not receive a classification as a conscientious objector. After receiving additional materials concerning Craycroft's case, General Hershey reaffirmed his opinion on June 14, 1967. Craycroft filed a second application for discharge on June 26, 1967. Both applications were reviewed, according to Department of Defense procedures, by a Board of Officers and Enlisted Personnel. On July 21, 1967, The Chief of Naval Personnel reaffirmed his recommendation concerning the first application, which was that Craycroft's request be denied.
Although no formal hearing was given Craycroft beyond his interview with Commander Madden, Naval authorities evaluated the applications for discharge on the basis of the documentary evidence supplied by Craycroft, including his own statements and letters from his friends and relatives. Two letters from clergymen were also submitted on Craycroft's behalf. The Chief of Naval Personnel noted that Craycroft's enlistment and prior inconsistent acts cast doubt on the sincerity of his professed beliefs and that these beliefs appeared to be based on philosophical, rather than religious, concepts. Additionally, his beliefs were determined to amount to no more than an extension of certain attitudes that he already harbored prior to his enlistment. DD 1300.6 precludes the issuance of conscientious objector discharges in such cases. At this point, Craycroft brought his complaints to the District Court. He alleged that the procedures directed by BUPERSMAN Art. C-5210 failed to provide a method whereby his application could receive fair consideration at any level. He also argued that the Navy failed to follow its own procedures in its failure to require endorsements of his application by his commanding officer and a chaplain. Moreover, Craycroft asserted that the Navy's failure to find that he was a conscientious objector constituted error as a matter of law.
The Navy ordered Craycroft to report for active duty on November 1, 1967, following the...
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