United States v. Alvies

• Decision Date: 28 May 1953
• Docket Number: No. 33555.,33555.
• Citation: 112 F. Supp. 618
• Parties: UNITED STATES v. ALVIES.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of California

112 F. Supp. 618

UNITED STATES v. ALVIES.

No. 33555.

United States District Court N. D. California, S. D.

May 28, 1953.

Chauncey Tramutolo, U. S. Atty., Joseph Karesh, Asst. U. S. Atty., San Francisco, Cal., for plaintiff.

Clarence E. Rust, Oakland, Cal., for defendant.

OLIVER J. CARTER, District Judge.

The United States indicted and prosecuted Daniel Warren Alvies for having knowingly refused to submit to induction into the armed forces, in violation of section 12(a) of the Universal Military Training and Service Act, 50 U.S.C.A.Appendix, § 462 (a). Trial was had without a jury, and the matter submitted for decision.

Defendant contends that he was improperly classified, and as a consequence thereof, improperly ordered to report for induction, by his local selective service board. Defendant claims to be conscientiously opposed to participation in war in any form because of his religious training and belief. He takes the position that the evidence in his selective service file does not justify a classification which would subject him to induction into the armed forces.

The record is clear that, prior to defendant's refusal to submit to induction, he had: (1) exhausted his administrative remedies for securing a different classification; (2) submitted to a physical examination to determine his fitness for military service; (3) obeyed the order to report for induction; and, (4) done everything required of him by selective service officials except the taking of the oath of induction. Under these circumstances a defendant may properly raise the defense that his local selective service board acted beyond its jurisdiction in denying his claim to a classification other than I-A (subject to induction). Estep v. United States, 327 U.S. 114, 66 S.Ct. 423, 90 L.Ed. 567.

No Constitutional right exists to be exempt from service in the armed forces because of religious or conscientious objection. United States v. Macintosh, 283 U.S. 605, 51 S.Ct. 570, 75 L.Ed. 1302; United States v. Schwimmer, 279 U.S. 644, 49 S.Ct. 448, 73 L.Ed. 889; Arver v. United States (Selective Draft Law Cases), 245 U.S. 366, 38 S.Ct. 159, 62 L.Ed. 349.¹ However, a limited exemption from such service is provided for conscientious objectors by the selective service statute and regulations.

Section 6(j) of the Universal Military Training and Service Act, 50 U.S.C.A.Appendix, § 456(j), provides:

"Nothing contained in this title sections 451-454 and 455-471 of 50 U.S.C. App. shall be construed to require any person to be subject to combatant training and service in the armed forces of the United States who, by reason of religious training and belief, is conscientiously opposed to participation in war in any form. Religious training and belief in this connection means an individual's belief in a relation to a Supreme Being involving duties superior to those arising from any human relation, but does not include essentially political, sociological, or philosophical views or a merely personal moral code. Any person claiming exemption from combatant training and service because of such conscientious objections whose claim is sustained by the local board shall, if he is inducted into the armed forces under this title, be assigned to noncombatant service as defined by the President, or shall, if he is found to be conscientiously opposed to participation in such noncombatant service, in lieu of such induction, be ordered by his local board, subject to such regulations as the President may prescribe, to perform * * * such civilian work contributing to the maintenance of the national health, safety, or interest as the local board may deem appropriate * * *."

Selective service regulations pertaining to classification of registrants provide, so far as is here material:

"Class I-A: Available for military service.

"In Class I-A shall be placed every registrant who has failed to establish to the satisfaction of the local board, subject to appeal hereinafter provided, that he is eligible for classification in another class. 32 C.F.R. 1622.10

"Class I-O: Conscientious objector available for civilian work contributing to the maintenance of the national health, safety, or interest.

"(a) In Class I-O shall be placed every registrant who would have been classified in Class I-A but for the fact that he has been found, by reason of religious training and belief, to be conscientiously opposed to both combatant and non-combatant training and service in the armed forces."

Thus there are limitations upon the authority of selective service boards to classify as available for induction into the armed forces those who qualify as conscientious objectors within the meaning of the statute and regulations. However, the question of whether the local board has exceeded its jurisdiction is reached only if there is no basis in fact for the classification given the defendant. Estep v. United States, supra, 327 U.S. at page 122, 66 S.Ct. 423.

There is no basis in fact for the classification given a registrant by a local board unless there is at least some evidence to support the classification.² In determining whether there is a basis in fact for the classification given the registrant, the trial judge may consider only the evidence upon which the local board acted. Cox v. United States, 332 U.S. 442, 453-455, 68 S.Ct. 115, 92 L.Ed. 59.³ The determination must be made from the record as a whole, and no single standard, fact or circumstance is controlling. Swaczyk v. United States, 1 Cir., 156 F.2d 17, 19.

The only evidence introduced on behalf of the government on this point was the defendant's selective service file. The record is otherwise silent as to what other evidence, if any, the selective service boards⁴ had as a basis for the classifications made. The facts adduced from the file are as follows:

Alvies registered with his local selective service board in Oroville, California, on May 14, 1951. When he filled out his classification questionnaire in November, 1951 he declared himself to be conscientiously opposed to participation in war in any form because of his religious training and belief. Thereafter, he filled out and filed with the local board a special questionnaire required of all selective service registrants who claim to be conscientious objectors.

He believes in a Supreme Being, in the form of God, and His Son, Jesus Christ. He takes the position that Jesus Christ has promulgated certain rules for the guidance of human conduct. Among those rules are: (1) non-use of, and non-resistance to, force, violence and oppression; and (2) the maintenance of an attitude of love and affection toward all other human beings. His authority for all this is "The Bible." Alvies interprets the words of Jesus, as reported in "The Bible," to be a personal command to him to abstain from participation in war in any form. He feels that he must obey that command although directed to do otherwise by any human being, because he believes Jesus to have the divine status, superior to any and all human beings, which he is represented as having by "The Bible."

His religious training has come from his parents, from two years' instruction in "The Bible" at Adventist High School in Paradise, California, and from his personal reading and study of "The Bible." He is not a member of any particular religious sect or organization. Neither is his father a member of any particular religious sect or organization; nor was his mother before her death.

Alvies states that he relies upon "the Word of God" for religious guidance. By this he apparently means his own interpretation of "The Bible." He further states that in his opinion the consistence and depth of his religious convictions are most conspicuously demonstrated by "living the Christian life of self denial of worldly pleasures, building my life upon the teachings of Jesus Christ, especially the Sermon on the Mount." He states that his only public expression of his religious views has been in discussions with neighbors. He declares that he believes that Christians must never use force.

He has lived all his life on a small ranch near Paradise, California. His education consists of eight years of elementary school, two years of high school, and more than two years of correspondence school study in high school subjects. His only employment has been on his father's ranch except that he once helped one neighbor with his olive harvest and once helped another neighbor rebuild a ranch house.

On the basis of the foregoing information, the local board classified Alvies I-A. He requested, and was granted, a personal appearance before the board. At that hearing Alvies appeared as a witness. Although he refused to swear to the oath, he did affirm it. The summary of his testimony, prepared by the local board, indicates that, in answers to questions put to him by members of the board, he stated that he did not want to go into the service because he was "a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ," and that he stated that he belonged to no church, but read "The Bible" at home. He further stated that his objections to military service included non-combatant, as well as combatant, training and duties. This summary then states that the chairman of the local board "explained to the registrant that the Local Board is bound by regulations and they felt that there was nothing to allow them to reclassify the boy, they felt as tho sic they had no grounds to reclassify the boy * * *."

At the request of Alvies his selective service file was sent to the appeal board. As required by section 6(j) of the Universal Military Training and Service Act, 50 U.S.C.A.Appendix, § 456(j), the appeal board referred the matter to the Department of Justice for inquiry and hearing. Alvies did not appear at the hearing, which was held in San Francisco, California, but did submit to the hearing officer a letter. This letter is not included in Alvies' selective service file, and,...